DIGIMON QVEST
by Rangertamer
Summary: Tom Corvis is handed a mysterious access card by a dying man out in the woods. The card will give access to a secret that will change Tom's life for ever. DIGIMON IS A TRADEMARK OF TOEI ANIMATION. This is a fanfiction story. Not for commercial purposes.
1. DISK 1

DISK 1 (LATE NIGHT ENCOUNTER)

New York City Downtown

In a used book store downtown ,Tom Corvis was finishing to arrange the books on the shelves before closing.

He had just come out of high school and enjoyed doing this part time job.

He especially enjoyed reading through some of the books, especially the ones related to mystical creatures and dragons.

This would worry Ms Campbell, who was the owner of the store, since sometimes Tom would stay in the library until late hours reading and then he would ride his bike back home.

- Tommy. It's getting late. I don't want your folks to get worried. - called Ms Campbell turning off the lights to make Tom look away from his book.

- Sorry Ms Campbell. - replied Tommy feeling startled by the interruption. - I was about to leave.

He got up and got his backpack and put on his wintercoat. It was November and was very cold outside.

- Are you sure you don't want to call a cab? - said Ms Campbell very worried.

- I always bike to midtown at this time without problems. I'll be fine.

- Ok. Tommy. Be careful. Say hello to your folks from me.

- I will Ms Campbell. See you tomorrow. - waved Tommy putting his reading glasses in his pocket.

Then, he walked out the door of the old store, put on his winter hat and unlocked his bike from the near light post.

Few minutes later Tom was pedaling into Central Park South; a chilly wind blew in his face. It was darker than usual so he accelerated the pace.

He could hear distant sirens blaring in far away and then after a few minutes there was silence.

He rode through the wooded area up the hill and the slowed down when he was on the top.

As he pedaled to the bottom he could hear the leaves rustling but no other sounds.

Suddenly, from the darkness a shadow pounced on him and made him fall off to the grass. His heart accelerated to the point he felt it was going to stop.

The man who pounced on him was gasping for breath. Tommy looked down and realized that his abdomen was covered in blood.

The stranger crawled to Tommy who dragged himself backwards in incredible fear until he leaned his back on the nearest tree.

- Ple...aseeee... - called the strange man who his wrinkled face could tell he was in his 50s. He had something in his hand and wanted to give it to Tommy. He resisted thinking that it was a knife and wanted to stab him.

- Take it...- pleaded the man gasping forcing Tommy to open his hand. He put in his hand something that felt like plastic.

- Please...don't hurt me...- stammered Tommy terrorized at the man noticing the plastic card was stained with blood.

- Don't let them get to him...- gasped the stranger and then he turned his face around when he noticed that far behind people were coming with flashlights toward them. He got up and without saying another word ran with a limp away.

Tommy got up and without saying anything else and rode his bike like the wind out of the park. He felt numb all over.

When he got home, he removed his coat before entering. If his parents saw he was stained with blood they would have made a complete drama scene.

He sneaked quietly and got upstairs where his room was.

- Tommy! - called the mom in the hallway startling him almost to the state of shock.  
>- Mom! - you scared the heck out of me.<p>

- You scared the heck out of me young man! - replied the mom. - You know what time it is?  
>- I know. I am sorry. I got carried away. I swear It will not happen again.<br>- Well, it better be, because if it happens again, I will put you in a curfew like a little kid, Is that clear?  
>- Perfectly. - said Tommy leaping to his room closing the door.<p>

He was still shivering when he put the hand in his pants and took out the object the stranger gave him. Not a big deal, just a thick dark blue plastic card. It had a stripe on one side like a credit card but this was bulkier. He looked at it from an angle and could see that there were holographic security seal on it. Across the bottom, the letters GTC Corp could be read.

- Oh man!. - said Tommy lying on his bed and immediately he fell asleep.


	2. DISK 2

DISK 2

THE WEREHOUSE

- Tommy got up for school at 6 am as every day. After showering and getting dressed he came down to have breakfast.

His little sister Lily was already there at the table having some cereal.

- Good morning son. - said the father coming into the room. He had taken the newspaper inside and sat down to read it. He took the remote and changed the channel which made Lily very upset.

- Dad? - said Lily protesting that her father had changed her cartoons to the Financial news channel.

The father was an investor and was watching the business update.

The news anchor of the TV was announcing the business news while Tom and Lily finished their breakfast.

" At this hour, our top story. The CEO of Genetech Technologies, Robert Brice went missing yesterday. He was last seen in midtown yesterday night and the police are still looking for him. Mr Brice, the head of Genetech Technologies was having a very bad year with the profits of the company plummeting down in the last quarter. The authorities are requesting the cooperation of the people in the area to locate him; Mr Brice has no family to account for."

Tom finished his cereal as her sister ran out to catch the school bus. Then, mom came by.

- Are you ready?  
>- Yup. - replied Tom leaving the plates in the sink.<p>

As they drove to the High School, mom noticed Tom was fidgeting.

- Is there something going on? - asked the mom.  
>- I'm ok mom. It's just cold in here.<br>- Well, no wonder, you left your overcoat at home. Sometimes you are very careless.  
>- I know...- grunted Tom as he saw that they were approaching the high school.<p>

- Don't stay late at the bookstore ok?  
>-Ok mom. - said Tommy stepping out of the car. - mom grabbed his arm.<br>- You promise? - she said with a smile on her face.  
>- I promise. - replied Tom.<p>

As they came out of English class, Tom met his best friend Mandy who was as nerdy as Tom and wore glasses.

- Hey looser. - mocked Mandy. - How are you?  
>- Fine. - Just a little shaken up by yesterday.<br>- What happened?  
>- I was coming back from the bookstore and some bum bumped at me at the park and he gave me this. - said Tom showing Mandy the blue card.<p>

Mandy held it at an angle. - Hmmm.. GTC - she said waving it around. - Any idea what this is?  
>- I dunno. - replied Tom recovering the card from Mandy. - Looks like an access card.<p>

- I feel curious. - said Mandy. -Let's go to the library and see if we can look this up.

They went to the library and sat on one of the work stations.

- Ok. Let's search engine, GTC...- said Tom typing at the computer.

- 5 million results... - said Mandy. - Look in the news feed.

First link of the news feed:

1. Genetech CEO Robert Brice found dead at pier in New York.

- It has a video link. - said Mandy making Tom press on the link.

"This is a breaking news update. The police found 54 year old, Genetech CEO, Robert Brice at South Street Seaport. The cause of death has not been determined but the police are looking for suspects.

At that moment the photo of Mr Brice came on the screen. This sent shivers down Tom's spine when he recognized that person in the picture.

"Mr Brice was heading Genetech Technologies, a company that was declaring bankruptcy and had their last assets being seized"

Tom navigated away. Mandy took over and seemed fascinated by the facts.

- The plot thickens. - said Mandy in a eerie tone of voice typing the website of Genetech technologies.

The link that was still live was the one that read: Foreclossure process.

It showed a list of locations across the country. All of them crossed out except one.

"Supply Werehouse #7, Address Camdem, NJ.

Tom and Mandy looked at the screen mesmerized and then looked at each other.

- Tom! what are you doing? - called Mandy chasing after Tom.  
>- I am giving this to the police. It's a murder scene evidence. I'll tell them what happened.<br>- Wait, wait! Don't you want to know what's there? - said Mandy yanking Tom's shirt to stop him.  
>- This is dangerous...I don't want to be involved.<br>- Come on? - called Mandy. - Let's go after school. We'll take my car...  
>- Ok... You win. Lead the way then.<p>

Later in the afternoon, Mandy and Tom drove to the werehouse address.

- There it is. - said Mandy looking at the giant decomisioned building with smokestacks with a dirt road leading to it. They pulled over close by. The wire gate was bent and unkept.

- This is a bad idea. - called Tom. - probably nobody has been here in years.  
>- Don't be such a baby Tom. Come on, let's take a look.<p>

Not very impressive. The werehouse was complete empty space. The voices of Mandy and Tom resonated with strong echo. Crows would fly away in every direction with their approaching footsteps.

The only thing that stood up was a stall that had a black box on it with a opening in the front and a LED bulb.

- This is too easy. - said Mandy pointing out at the card reader in front of them.

Tom with hesitation moved to the card reader and inserted the card and then pulled out. Silence.

The LED beeped briefly and then in the center of the room the dirt moved into a mound as an elevator climbed to the surface. It was a cylindrical aluminum elevator that looked brand new on the outside.

- Wicked. - said Tom finally as they approached the elevator with Mandy. The motion sensor beeped and the door slid open to the side like a blind curtain.

- Ok. You don't have to tell me what to do next right? - mocked Mandy as she walked into the elevator. The panel inside had only two buttons. L and B. Tom looked around and pressed the B button and with a hiss the elevator shut its doors.


	3. DISK 3

DISK 3

REX

Tom and Mandy looked around the elevator. It was purely white on the inside with fluorescent illumination and a marble floor.

After pressing the button, the door shut down with a hiss and then the elevator softly started to move underground.

There was no way to look outside but Tom was predicting the elevator was traveling several stories underground until it came to a stop.

The doors opened and as they stepped down, a narrow corridor extended to the other side. Acrylic panels lit up on the cylindrical pathway illuminating the way like if it was a gateway to heaven.

As they coursed the long passage, they could hear humming machinery around them and humming wires. It all led to a circular room at the end of the corridor that looked like a spherical pod.

As they came into the room fluorescent lights came on revealing on the far side innumerable mainframes connected to each other. In the middle, in front of the far wall there was the main terminal computer with a large LCD projection screen bearing the logo of the company. On the left side of the room there was an obscured bow tube that seemed to have liquid coursing inside of it.

- What is all this? - murmured Tom and as if the room had ears and could hear his voice the mainframe sped up and the screen showed the boot routine of the machine followed by a window that enlarged showing a familiar face.

- Greetings. – started the video clip from the person who looked like the missing CEO. In his 50s, caucasian complexion, light beard, glasses complete with a lab coat – My name is Robert Brice phD. Unfortunately, if you are listening to this, most likely I am not among you anymore.

- No kidding…..- mocked Mandy but Tom gestured to keep quiet so they could listen.

- I congratulate you, brave soul for finding this place. If the video is still running then it is possible that you are a good Samaritan I had met by chance and not the people I wanted to avoid. What you witness in front of you is the product of 20 years of hard work.

- Boooooring…..- mocked Mandy once again snickering through the presentation.

- Shut up. Listen. – grunted Tom telling Mandy to cut it out.

- Although I had been lately administering the Company I started as a scientist in the division of biological sciences and informatics. The secret hidden here is so important it can affect the life of every single human being on the planet as I speak. It started out as a project to create a synthetic life form that could interface with data. Our initial efforts were very disappointing. – said the video cutting to a video scene of what looked like an experiment of a boggy gelatinous creature in the middle of an empty room basically bursting into pieces of flesh. – this made Tom and Mandy look away squinting preventing to feel a revolting sensation in the stomach..

- But finally, we made a breakthrough. – continued Brice's voice overlayed with computed DNA animation. - We had been attempting to use only human DNA but the integration failed, so one day we decided to use animal DNA to complement. It was a success, the digital DNA interfaced with the organic DNA very successfully. The resulting organism grew into the computer mainframe gradually and started to learn slowly about the human world. Then as time went by, and the complexity of my project grew I felt that other people higher in hierarchy were cutting me off. I suspected that gradually my project was being transitioned to other location for other purpose. I could never tell. I had a bad feeling about it so also I started to transition all my work to this single location. I felt I was being watched and followed so finally I decided that the only way to prevent my creation from being destroyed was to release it to a person that may be able to protect it from harm.

The bow tube on the side of the room illuminated. Inside, a creature covered in white fur rested inside in the viscous suspension. Suddenly a release valve opened evacuating the liquid and then the upper section of the tube opened up. The creature opened its eyes and stood up on the floor of the tube and then climbed down to the floor of the lab in front of a mesmerized Tom and Mandy. It had a wide forehead with very short floppy ears on top, large rounded eyes with a mouth that was slightly clefted in the middle. The trunk was short and the arms and feet were wide and strong. The arms ended in a paw like structure that had 4 digits and had claws projected on each side. It had a very short stubby tail.

- This is the RX-2001 prototype….. I call it Rex, after my cat from which great part of its DNA comes from; however, other animal species were integrated.

- So cute!. – said Mandy bending down reaching out to the creature that sniffed attentively and grunted uninterested. – So this is the big secret? A huggable fuzz ball?

- Do not be deceived by its appearance. Rex is an advanced life form. It has the capability of communicating with electronic equipment and can change its programming as easy as having a conversation. Its able to use the wires as a mean of transportation. You can try it. Just say; digitize.

Tom felt curious and bent down to the creature that stood 3 ft tall.

- Rex. Digitize. – commanded Tom.

Rex suddenly dissolved into particles that seemed to have traveled to the nearest electrical outlet in the room.

- Where did he go? – asked Mandy looking around trying to figure out where it had gone.  
>- Order it back. Say. Materialize.<br>- Rex. Materialize. – yelled Tom out loud.

Rex's particles came out from the outlet and then materialized in front of Tom.

- This is amazing. – laughed Mandy out loud looking at the creature staring attentively at them.  
>- I had given up a family practically to bring Rex into existence. I would like to have him enjoy life in the company of good people. Rex has been secluded here practically all his life and has no knowledge of what is out there. Please, take good care of him. – The picture in the screen started to dim and the voice finished. – This disk contains more detailed explanations of Rex's potential. – A compartment in front of the LCD screen opened up revealing a DVD-ROM disk.<p>

Then the computer mainframes started to fizzle, like going into a meltdown. All the equipment started to fizzle and crackle. The laboratory was in some kind of self destructing sequence. A passageway opened on the far side of the room.

- Come on. Let's go! – called Tom as he saw the mainframe catching fire that spread quickly down the rest of the passage down to the elevators they had come in.

Mandy took Rex in her arms and all three came down the passageway to the outside world.


	4. DISK 4

Disk 4

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

As they came through the opening at the side of the hill, they could feel the rays of the sun on their faces.

Rex squinted bothered by it because he had never been outdoors, however he adapted quickly and felt the pleasant warmth of the sun on his skin. He calculated that the amount of UV radiation was excessive so at that moment he made his coat color change to a darker one.

Tom and Mandy came out coughing and gagging as the billowing smoke came out of the opening on side of the warehouse.

- At last. – said Mandy almost wanting to kiss the mud on the ground.  
>- Come on. – said Tom. – We have to get out of here. Somebody will see this smoke sooner or later.<p>

They paced quickly to Mandy's old blue SUV. Rex was still puzzled walking on this terrain. It felt mushy on his padded feet. Through his eyes innumerable numbers and calculations passed by as he assessed the stability of the ground they were walking on.

Soon, they were all inside Mandy's SUV. Rex hoped on the back seat and Tom and Mandy went to the front. She turned the key to start it. There was silence. She nodded her head and tried again. Nothing.

- Don't tell me it died again! – protested Tom. – I thought you told me you had it fixed.  
>- I did, bonehead! Last week. – replied Mandy angrily turning the key again. Nothing happened. – Stay here! - said Mandy stepping out of the car almost slamming the door shut and cussing.<p>

Tom stepped down and helped Mandy raise the hood. Meanwhile, Rex climbed to the front seat. He carefully placed the tip of one of his furry digits on the ignition key receptacle.

Rex could feel every wire and circuit of the car. He found the electronic ignition computer and was able to see the schematics. Rex could detect one of the connections was worn out so he instructed the ignition computer to re-route the current. As Rex made this adjustment a spark came out and the car tried to start with the amazement of Tom and Mandy still arguing of what could have been wrong at the front. Both returned to the front and saw Rex hopping back to the back seat. Mandy turned the ignition key and the SUV started easily.

As they drove into Manhattan they saw several firetrucks and police cars coming from the opposite direction.

They made nothing of it and drove home with no other setback.

They arrived at Tom's home and went to the study. Both were eager to see what was on that disk.

Tom switched the TV on and there was news about the warehouse.

" Our top story of the hour, a mysterious fire broke out on this warehouse at Camdem, New Jersey. The fire department has put out the flames. The warehouse belonged to Genetech Technologies' late CEO who as you recall was found at the pier suspected to have committed suicide according to the authorities. Police will be investigating the fire"

- Suicide? – said Tom out loud. – That guy was wounded when we bumped into each other that night. That's fishy…..  
>- This is also fishy…. – called out Mandy who had inserted the disk in the desktop computer and opened the only file.<br>- What the heck? – said Tom as he saw what was on screen.

"U.S DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE"  
>"U.S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY"<br>"CLASSIFIED"

The portable document format file consisted of scanned pages and the first pages had stamps and seals all over.

The second page was a single line of text:

"PROJECT DIGITAL SPEAR"

They looked at the file to look for something useful. It was full of technical language and other parts had military terminology.

- Listen to this. "RX 2001 can interface with electronic and computer equipment and control it at his will." - There are some annotations here. Like a log book.

One of the entries said.

" RX 2001 refuses to engage training dummy"

Another one

"RX 2001 refuses to synchronize with user for today's drill"

The last entry said:  
>"The task force has found troublesome that RX 2001 selectively allows synchronization. He seems to have developed free will and sometimes refuses to do what it's told. Will report this back to the task force. Most likely they will request termination of the project"<p>

- Synchronize? – asked Tom instructing Mandy to look for the word somewhere else in the text.  
>- Here. It's like a list of commands. "Synchronize": RX 2001 will synchronize his brain waves to his selected user's brain waves and will be able to communicate remotely. The user will be able to see through RX 2001 visual interface at some points"<br>- Sounds awesome. – voiced Mandy. – Let me try. – said Mandy kneeling looking at Rex in the eye. – Rex. Synchronize.

Nothing happened. Rex stood there staring at Mandy and then looked away.

- You give it a try. – said Mandy pushing Tom in front of Rex.  
>- Ok. Ok. – said Tom standing in front of Rex taking a deep breath. – Rex. Synchronize.<p>

At that moment Tom's vision blacked out. He felt like his spirit was being yanked from his physical body and felt how it traveled into Rex's small nostrils. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and nothing seemed different.

- Well? - asked Mandy raising his eyebrows.  
>- Well…..Nothing seems to have happened….- replied Tom looking all around puzzled.<br>- That's because you have not asked me to communicate with you. – said a young voice inside Tom's head.

Tom felt distraught and started looking around nervously and saw Rex still standing in front of him.

- Relax…. Anybody who tried for the first time felt like that. You will get used to it. – said the voice.  
>- You can talk….. – said Tom out loud.<p>

Mandy felt surprised because she could not hear anything.

- You can hear him? – said Mandy walking beside Tom.  
>- Loud and clear inside my head. – replied Tom. – How do I go back to normal?<br>- Say, disconnect.  
>- Rex. Disconnect. – said Tom and then Tom his spirit was being sucked back again into his body and felt whole again.<p>

He went to the sofa and lied down. – Boy that was weird…..

- No wonder that guy kept this so secret. – said Mandy.  
>- What do you think we should do? - asked Tom.<br>- I don't know. That guy said that he simply wanted Rex to have a normal life so I guess we should just try to raise him as pet.  
>- What else does the manual say?<p>

Mandy went back to the computer.

- Here is something interesting. " RX 2001 is coated with an interface polymer able to deflect high speed projectiles. RX 2001 can interface with objects and modify their physical properties for limited amounts of time. He can change object densities on contact rendering them more manageable. By doing this he can lift heavy objects or change their density to decrease damage inflicted upon him. RX 2001 is a very resilient organism but one weakness is that if he sustains enough damage without being aware of the object used he can be severely damaged"

- What does that mean? – asked Tom covering his eyes with his forearm still feeling dizzy.

- It means; don't let someone attack him by surprise. – answered Mandy. She browsed down the list – How about this? – RX 2001 can defend himself and attack using the fibers of his bio-polymer coat as a projectile. RX 2001 will defend himself even if told no to do so.

- Nice. – said Tom jumping from the couch. – Let's try that.

He pointed at the other side of the wall were a dart board was hanging.

- Rex. Attack. – said Tom.

Rex waved his paw rapidly and thick white shards flew through the dart board splitting it in half and leaving a crack on the wall.

- Oh crud! – yelled Tom looking at the damage then he looked at the clock. – It's almost 5. Dad is gonna be here any minute.

After thinking about it Tom came up with an idea.

- Rex. Synchronize. – said Tom.

Once again, Tom felt connected to Rex.

- Can you help me with this mess? – pleaded Tom.  
>- No. – answered Rex looking to the side in disdain.<br>- Please….- pleaded Tom kneeling in front of Rex.  
>- Since you ask politely… – said Rex moving to the side of the wall and pulling the shards from the wall, then he went to the other side of the room where there was big and tall bookcase display, 5 feet tall. Rex carefully took it with both paws. His coat glittered for a moment and then he was able to lift the whole thing like if it was beach ball. Tom and Mandy stood beside him to help keep his balance.<p>

- I am home. – said the man coming through the front door and then walked to his study finding Tom and Mandy standing beside each other.

- Hey fellas….- said Tom's father slightly puzzled. – Is there anything going on?

- Hi dad….- said Tom. – Nothing. We were just about to leave.

Mandy was holding the DVD on her hands behind her back.

- Ok. I need to make a phone call. May I? - asked the dad inquisitively.  
>- Sure. Sure. We were just about to leave. – said Tom leaving the study and going upstairs.<p>

The father looked around and everything looked in its place. He sat at his desk and picked the receiver.

- Kids….- he nodded dialing the phone wondering for a few minutes if the bookcase had been on the opposite side of the room before.

Tom and Mandy closed the door upstairs. Looked around and felt relieved.

- Rex. Materialize. – said Tom.  
>- That was close. – said Mandy. – We have to be careful with that.<br>- Yeah. Now we have to think on making some arrangements.

Meanwhile, the fire department was leaving the warehouse and was finishing picking up their gear. A man in a suit came from the lower level and reported to a person in a black SUV on the nearby hill.

- Any luck? – said the first one lighting up a cigarette.  
>- Everything was destroyed beyond recognition. We can't tell exactly what he was doing here.<p>

The cell phone rang and the first man answered.

- Spencer. – He answered with a deep voice as chatter came from the other side. – Negative. Have not been able to locate target. Will keep our eyes open. – then he hanged up.  
>- So. What's the plan? – asked the other man.<br>- We wait. – said agent Spencer tossing the cigarette to the street before climbing to the black SUV and driving away.


	5. DISK 5

Disk 5

HYPERTHREAD

Tom and Mandy reviewed the manual over the ensuing days. Rex had very little needs in terms of food and shelter.

" RX-2001 needs for food and water are merely trophic. As long as he stays in the range of the electromagnetic spectrum his body will use it as energy. For the same reason waste is transferred back to the spectrum. If the electromagnetic spectrum gets disrupted, RX-2001 will use backup energy for a 2 hour limit after which his energy will be depleted and will shut down"

"Hyperthread": RX-2001 is composed of several species of DNA. He can make use of them borrowing the abilities of the respective species. This ability has not been widely tested and can potentially compromise RX-2001 stamina.

Below there was a list of species with scientific names he could "hyperthread" to.

The news was on and reports of the holiday season were cut short.

"We interrupt your Holiday programming to bring you this report live downtown. One of the financial district buildings has caught fire above the 60th floor. The building has been evacuated but we have word that there are people still trapped in the upper floors. We'll keep you updated."

- That's where dad works! – said Tom watching the TV news feed. –Mom, have you been able to call him.  
>- No. He's not answering the cell phone. – said Tom's mom with an anxious tone of voice.<p>

At that moment, the doorbell rang. It was Mandy and looked quite anxious.

- I heard what's happening Tom. – said Mandy anxiously.  
>- We need to go downtown. Can you take me? – asked Tom.<br>- I was precisely going to suggest that.  
>- Tom!. Are you insane? - cried the mother standing up in protest. - We have to wait here! It might be dangerous.<br>- I know mom. – Answered Tom. – But I need to know what's happening. – finished Tom putting on his coat and hat.

With that Tom and Mandy left for downtown. There was a police line away from the main entrance.

- Excuse me. My father works there. – said Tom to the police chief behind the barricade after pushing himself through the crowd.  
>- Stand back. We are handling the situation here. – said the officer blocking Tom's path.<br>- Tom! – called the voice behind Tom. He turned around and saw a man crossing the barricade.  
>- Dad! – replied Tom running to his father. – Are you ok?<br>- Yeah! But there are still people trapped in there.  
>- What happened?<br>- I don't know. I went to administration at the 49th floor and then the fire broke out. The automated sprinklers failed and the fire spread quickly. I was able to get out. Sorry I didn't call; I left my cell phone in the office up in the 60th floor.  
>- Wait here! Come Mandy. – said Tom pulling Mandy from the sleeve of her shirt.<p>

They went to the back alley, Mandy unpacked the laptop.

- What do you plan to do? – asked Mandy.  
>- We'll see. Rex. Materialize.<p>

Rex showed up in front of them.

- Rex. Synchronize. – said Tom connecting to Rex's mind.  
>- What can I do for you. Tom?<br>- Do you think you can go up there and help those people?  
>- I would need to climb all the way up there… - replied Rex looking up at the side of the building.<br>- Tom. Here's the list. – replied mandy.  
>- Ok. Let's try this. Ready?<p>

Rex stood attentively waiting for the command.

- Rex. Hyperthread to… Tyto Alba. – said Tom.

Rex body changed shape; he grew wings and his feet turned to long and sharp talons. His face grew a short curved beak. The giant barn owl shaped creature stood in front of Tom and Mandy and flew toward the top floor of the building. Tom could see the landscape through Rex' eyes.

- There's too much wind Tom. I won't be able to land….. – communicated Rex struggling to get close to the roof level.  
>- He's not able to land. – said Tom to Mandy.<br>- Try to change him into something else. How about this? – said Mandy showing Tom the laptop screen.  
>- Ok. Let's try. Rex. Hyperthread to Canis lupus arctos. – said Tom.<p>

Rex's body changed in midair and became heavier into the shape of a giant arctic wolf. The wind had carried his body of the center of the roof and to the side. As Rex changed his body plummeted along the side of the building. Rex was able to direct his body toward the side and land in a balcony at the 50th floor. Then, using all his strength he climbed almost vertically burying his claws 15 floors up to the amazement of the crowd below.

- I can't keep this up Tom. – said Rex and then his body changed back to normal.  
>- Rex. Are you ok? – asked Tom very worried.<br>- Yes. Let me gather some strength and tell me what I should do. –replied Rex.  
>- Ok. As soon as you can try to approach any of the terminals and try to see if you can activate the sprinklers.<br>- Ok. – said Rex. – then he felt startled as he saw a shadow of someone across the hall which was covered in smoke. Tom was able to see this as well and felt shocked.  
>- What's going on? – asked Mandy seeing that Tom looked puzzled.<br>- There's someone else up there.

Rex recuperated his strength and moved to one of the closest outlets. He connected making contact using his paw. He got to the encrypted computer system of the building.

- Rex. Override. – commanded Tom.

Minutes later Rex replied back to Tom.

- The main computer says someone came in previously like me and changed the response commands to fire.  
>- Can you change it back?<br>- Yes. – said Rex overriding the security mainframe.

In the meantime, the firemen were struggling to get to the 60th floor walking through a blazing inferno. The fire was pushing them back when the sprinkler system activated pouring water all over the place.

- It's done. – said Rex. Then a loud thud could be heard and Tom could feel it.  
>- Rex. Rex. – What happened? – asked Tom.<br>- There is someone here and he tried to attack me! – replied Rex.  
>- Can you see him? – asked Tom.<br>- No. – paused Rex closing his eyes, then suddenly he attacked with his shards. – But I can hear him.

The thick shard had pierced the elbow of another creature, 3 ft tall. Through Rex's eyes Tom could see it had the face of a gray colored rabbit with floppy ears. His mouth had fangs which made it unusual for a rabbit. He stood in his hind legs and he had collar around his neck.

- Rex. What is that? - asked Tom.  
>- I don't know. – replied Rex, approaching the creature as the sprinkler system activated in their floor dissipating the smoke.<p>

The rabbit staggered close to Rex and clanged to him. He was trying to tell something to Rex.

- Please….Help us! – pleaded the strange creature.  
>- Who are you? – asked Rex.<br>- I am a prisoner sent out to call your attention and find you. Please help us. – in that moment the rabbit emitted a piercing shriek as a projectile came from behind and stunned him.

Rex could see that from the neighboring building someone had shot the projectile with a sniper rifle.

The strange rabbit creature plummeted to the ground and disintegrated in front of Rex's eyes leaving the projectile behind. Rex took it on his paw and ran to the middle of the building were the staircase was. Rubble was all over and the access was blocked.

Rex was able to open a path to escape but the firemen where coming upstairs.

- Rex. Run to the closest port. I'll try to digitize you.  
>- Check. – said Rex running upstairs to the 62nd floor.<br>- Ok. Rex. Digitize.

The fireman broke to the office with their axes. Everything was under control.


	6. DISK 6

Disk 6

THE RAID

- Agent Spencer. He's waiting for you. – said the secretary at the reception desk.

Agent Spencer rose from the leather chair at the waiting area and walked through the double doors.

"OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROJECTS"

- Spence! – said the voice from the other side of the office. – Sit down please.

Spencer sat at the desk to finish his debriefing.

His superior, a bald man with a very expensive suit sat at his fancy desk and looked at Spencer attentively.

- So tell me. How will I explain to the project managers you just vaporized 20 million dollars worth of research money at the field? – said the boss raising his tone of voice.

Spence didn't budge at his boss judgmental attitude and responded without losing his temper. After all, he knew he was one of the best assets of the agency.

- That pipsqueak broke the connection with the marine and was about to disclose details of the rest of the operation. Couldn't let that happen, could we? – replied Spence bending forward. – It's not a big deal of a loss if we consider what's more important; we have evidence that RX is still operational.  
>- Yes. So I heard. – replied the boss putting his elbows on the desk and cupping his hands in front of his mouth. – So, the rumors are true; Brice was able to smuggle RX-2001 out of the base. How do you plan to find it?<br>- Our men are working on the surveillance of that building. It's just a matter of time. Then again, I am counting whoever has him to have picked the little surprise I left behind.  
>- Very well. You have all the department resources at your disposal. Bring it back as soon as you find him.<br>- What do I do with the ones protecting him?  
>- We can't afford liabilities…- replied the boss bending forward closer looking at Spence eye to eye. - Use your imagination. – said the boss.<p>

Meanwhile Tom, his father and Mandy had returned home. Tom went to his room with Mandy to examine what had happened.

- Rex, Materialize.

Rex materialized out of Tom's cell phone. His coat looked burnt out and he had a wound on his side that was slowly closing.

- I'll bring some bandages. – said Mandy leaving the room.

Rex approached Tom and handed the strange object he had picked up.

- Thank you Rex. – said Tom taking the projectile in his hands to examine it.

Mandy returned with bandages and a first aid kit and started to wrap Rex's right arm.

- What is that? – asked Mandy about the projectile.  
>- I don't know. – answered Tom examining it closer. It was a metallic rod at one end ending in an elongated bulb with a sharp broad tip. It had on each opposing side a small screw telling Tom that the object could be split down the middle.<p>

Tom opened his drawer and looked for a small watch screwdriver. He tested several until he found the correct one.

- Ok. Here we go. – said Tom unscrewing the projectile. He opened it very slowly to look what was inside.

There was a circuit board inside with some led bulbs. Half looked burnt out but the other half looked intact. One of the tiny wires had a small connector that fitted in a slot close to the tip.

- I wonder what this do? - asked Tom inserting the connector in the slot.

Suddenly a spark blinded Tom and the appliances in the house started going crazy. The light bulb in Tom's room burst like if it had burnt out.

- What the….? – said Tom as he noticed Rex fainted momentarily. After a few seconds Rex opened his eyes and projected an image on the wall. It was Dr Brice again.

" Greetings….If you are watching this it means that Rex is still operational and I have to apologize. I did not want to give you the whole story the first time because I did not know who to trust, so I recorded this secret message into Rex's database only to be disclosed if Rex was still living more than 20 days after he became re-activated. If you are listening to this you are in great danger. You see. Rex is not only an advanced science project…he's a weapon and he is not the only one. I wanted to keep him away because I knew he was going to get decommissioned. The people I worked with did not care anymore because they had been able to replicate the experiment with prototypical life forms we had found in the 1960s. These creatures were found in expeditions involving trans-dimensional travel at that time. We have tried to exploit their abilities and communicate with them but they have refused. They have very advanced intelligence and a community of their own. They called themselves: Digimon.

- We picked up the signal. – said the SWAT team leader talking over the radio as the police van approached Tom's house.

"I am sorry to have involved you into this. The people who would want Rex back are ruthless and will stop at nothing. It's up to you. I have a trusted associate who lives in Arizona. His name is Fred Collins. He is retired but he is a confident friend of mine. He knows about the project digital spear and has wanted all this time to make it right for these creatures. Rex is the ticket inside the base. Please, you have to try to contact Fred."

As the video faded showing an address in the state of Arizona, police lights shone through the window.

- This is the police. Please, come out with your hands up. You are surrounded.

Agent Spencer stepped out of the SUV and took the bullhorn away from the cop telling them to clear the area.

- This is agent Spencer; FBI. Thomas Corvis, We know you have government property in you possession. Please, turn him in and nobody will get hurt.

Mandy looked out the window and saw several SUVs and police cars surrounding the house.

- What do we do? – asked Mandy.  
>- Tom! – called the mother from downstairs. – What's going on?<br>- Nothing mother. – said Tom looking around thinking of what to do next. Then, He looked at Mandy. – Do you have your van in the garage?

- So…Why do we need all this display of force? - asked the police sergeant on the ground in front of the house.

- It's official business. – replied Spencer. – But if you really need to know; what they possess may carry a transmissible disease.

- Ok men, you heard him. Establish a perimeter. – yelled the sergeant.

At that moment, the garage door opened and Tom's father Ford GT mustang drove top speed onto the street and crashed through the police barricade.

- After them! – said the police sergeant.

The SUVs and police cars went into the chase for several blocks. It was weird that the car they were chasing was swerving from one side to the other until it finally it swerved to the curve and stopped.

The police surrounded the car and approached with caution. They opened the door with guns drawn out. To their surprise the car was empty.

Meanwhile, Mandy drove the SUV out of the garage carefully taking all the Corvis family inside. They had driven several blocks Rex struggling to keep control of the Mustang driving in the opposite direction.

Two SUVs had noticed the escaping car and went to the chase. They started shooting at Mandy's van as they merged into the freeway.

- I can't lose them Tom! - yelled Mandy trying to drive thru traffic.

Tom walked to the back door of the van and opened it.

Bullets came through bouncing off Rex without effect.

- Rex. Attack. – yelled Tom telling his family to get down.

Rex fired his shards and several off them destroyed the radiators of the chasing cars and the others destroyed the tires of the cruisers which lost control and tumbled over the highway.

Finally after closing the door Rex fell exhausted on Tom's lap.

- The other car is out of range Tom. – said Rex.  
>- It's ok. – said Tom disconnecting from Rex.<p>

Finally David, who was Tom's dad spoke up.

- What the hell is going on Tom? - he asked angrily.  
>- You are scaring us Tom. – sobbed the mom. – What did you do? – she wailed.<p>

As they drove south Tom tried to explain what had happened. How they had found Rex and what was the situation all about.

- This is wrong son. – murmured David. – We have to turn back and hand him over.  
>- Didn't you hear what I said? Whoever wants Rex back wants him dead.<br>- And we will end up dead if we don't return him! – sobbed the mother.  
>- We can't turn back. – said Mandy at the wheel. – It would be better to go and pay a visit to this guy Fred Collins.<br>- This is crazy! – said David. – Didn't you hear he was with the FBI? We are having those people looking all over for us now.  
>- It's wrong dad. – replied Tom. – Whatever authority he has that doesn't give him the right to do this. Besides. We have Rex on our side. What do does guys got?<p> 


	7. DISK 7

Disk 7

I'LL BE IN ARIZONA FOR CHRISTMAS

- What do you mean, empty? – voiced Spencer over the telephone as he heard the report of the Mustang that was intercepted. He slammed the telephone and spoke over the intercom. – Get me the NSA field office. – he said sitting on his chair waiting for the call to connect.  
>- NY field office. – answered the intercom.<br>- I need to request an interception from you.  
>- What's the justification for this?<br>- Biological hazard. – responded Spencer.  
>- Under what authority? – responded the man over the intercom.<br>- Do as I say. I am under level 6 command.  
>- Understood. Send me the request then. – sighed the person on the other side.<p>

Hours later Spencer was at the uplink room waiting. One of the other field agents came in.

- What is this about? - he asked.  
>- I am going to receive the information about the fugitives. Addresses, names, credit cards, habits, friends. Everything.<br>- Can you really do that? – asked the field agent.  
>- Of course. Everything is in computers out there now.<br>- Without a warrant? – asked the other agent.  
>- You are a newbie, right? – answered Spencer as the telecom screen came up.<p>

- We have identified the van with its license plate and we have the credit card information of the people involved. Last transaction in a gas station outbound interstate 95 south.

- Good. They won't go far. That gas tank won't last for 100 miles at least.

Few hours later the police and special agents were lined up at a gas station 100 miles south. Mandy's utility van pulled over and at that moment a swarm of agents came in and opened the door. An old man was at the wheel.

- Howdy? – the man said completely puzzled.

Spencer received the report.

- It was a homeless man we intercepted in the highway.  
>- Damn! – yelled Spencer. – Where the hell are they? Have you checked their credit cards?<br>- We tried. It fed transactions in New Jersey, then a few minutes later in Istanbul, then Rome, then Tokyo.  
>- Forget it. – said Spencer. - Try the surveillance cameras at the last closest point.<br>- Uploading it now.

When they clicked on the file, there was a video of Santa Claus dancing the Macarena.

- What the f…?….

Meanwhile, Tom reclined his seat of the comfortable first class area of a luxury airliner.

- Do you think we are safe? – asked Mandy who was sitting beside him.  
>- Relax. I am sure Rex was able to shake them off our trail.<br>- I feel nervous….. – muttered Tom's mom. – Who's going to pay for all this?.  
>- Relax Mom. Rex was able to issue the electronic tickets for free after he made friends with the airline central computer program.<p>

Few hours later the PA intercom of the plane came on.

"We are starting our descent to the city of Tucson Arizona. At this time we request our passengers to return their seats to the upright position for landing. Thank you for flying with us"

Spencer sat down calmly thinking about what to do next.

- Come with me. – he said stepping out of the uplink office.  
>- Where are we going?<br>- To the biological containment area.

They stepped into the elevator. Spencer swiped his id card and punched in the access code. The elevator went to the high security levels. Through the glass wall of the elevator it could be seen down below hundreds of pods aligned one next to the other with wires and cables hanging on the ceiling of each. It looked like a bee hive.

- I have never seen this place…. – said the other agent.  
>- You ain't seen nothing yet. – said Spencer as the elevator door hissed open.<p>

They approached one of the marines in the area. Spencer signed in the release request.

- Ok. – said the marine escorting the two agents inside the maze like structure.

There were in front of one of the pods.

- Ok. Here's one of them. The others are that way? If I may ask sir….- asked the marine. – Why do you go for the puny ones?  
>- We have not been able to control the others properly. It would be dangerous. This will have to do.<br>- Understood sir. – said the marine punching the security code of the pod.

Inside a 4 ft creature stood on his hind legs. He had reptilian scaly skin and muscular limbs with sharp claws. His eyes glittered in the darkness of the confined space. He had a bracelet surrounding his neck and his forehead had a birthmark in the shape of a V.

- This will do. – murmured Spencer with satisfaction.

Meanwhile at Tucson, David was able to rent the car.

- David …Santos? - asked the rental car reception guy reading from the computer.  
>- Si amigo. – said David with a smile in his face.<br>- Whatever…..Here's the keys. Happy Holidays.  
>- Bon natale…. – said David as he was being pulled by Tom. – Come on dad…<p>

They drove down the countryside. They could only see dessert on one side and the other.

- It should be around here….. – said Mandy looking around for the mailbox with the number.  
>- There. – said Tom pointing at the trailer that could be seen from afar.<br>- Ok. Let's go. – said Mandy pulling into the dirt road.

Tom stepped out of the car and went to the trailer front door. He knocked several times. A person opened the door slightly keeping the chair to the door.

- Who is it? – said the irritated voice inside.  
>- Fred Collins? My name is Tom and I<br>- He doesn't live here anymore. – said the person inside shutting the door completely.  
>- Please sir I… - muttered Tom.<br>- Scram or I'll call the cops!  
>- Robert Brice sent us here. – yelled Mandy from behind.<p>

Then, gently, the keychain slid and the door opened.

- Please come in. – said the man who was wearing a straw hat and sandals.

They introduced each other but they talked about business quickly. Tom's mom and dad went to sleep. They were exhausted while Tom and Mandy stayed and talked to Fred.

- Jesus Christ! - said Fred as he studied Rex from all angles. – Robert finally completed it.

- The pre recorded message was activated when I was playing around with this thing. – said Tom showing Fred the projectile.  
>- Let me see that. – said Fred taking it in his hand. He studied the object for a few minutes. – That son of a gun….So this is how you are keeping them immobile…. – muttered Fred between the teeth.<br>- What do you mean? – asked Tom.  
>- Don't you know what this is? – asked Fred pointing at the object. – This is an electromagnetic pulse generator.<p>

Mandy and Tom shrugged their shoulders.

- This projectile emits a pulse that can make electronic equipment stop functioning.

- Does this have to do with the project digital spear? – asked Mandy.

- I don't know the whole 9 yards. I used to work with Robert when RX…..I mean, Rex was just a blueprint. I know that our people had come in contact with these other creatures known as digimon but the last thing I knew about this before I was terminated from my employment is that there were discussions of how to make these creatures work for us. It seems the strategy didn't involve diplomacy after all….. – said Fred looking at the projectile.

- That explains this weird creature in the building telling Rex about "helping them" – deducted Tom

- I don't get it. This creature attacked him first….- retorted Mandy.

- Brice said Rex was the key to get inside the base. What is he talking about?

- The main experimentation site involving the portal was the military base a few miles away from here. I never got the clearance to see what was going on so I have no idea how big is the project or the details of it. With Rex here, it changes the game. – said Collins inviting Rex to the front of his desktop.

Fred went to the closet of his trailer where he had hundreds of notebooks. He took one of them and went over to Rex.

- Connect to this IP address and try to display its content.

Rex touched the CPU of Fred's desktop and the screen changed and cycled rapidly. The main screen showed up.

OFFICE OF SPECIAL PROJECTS  
>Password: _▌<p>

A side window showed Rex cycling random characters for the password. Finally access was granted.

Under Digital Spear hundreds of schematics showed up with all the specifications.

- Oh my god. – said Collins looking at all the schematics. – They have a prison down there…  
>- We have to break in and free them. – said Tom.<br>- Too dangerous. We don't know what we are up against. Unless we can shut the mainframe down. – said Fred and then he stared at the EMP projectile. – I have an idea.

Fred worked all night fixing the projectile. Finally, morning came.

- Good. – Fred said yawning. – It's fixed. With this we can break in and if there is any problem, boom, we shut everything down.  
>- What about Rex? - asked Tom.<br>- That's the beauty part. – replied Collins. – Brice knew how the other creatures could be subdued so he created a backup for Rex so he could survive a couple of hours under the absence of the electromagnetic field.  
>- Good morning. – greeted Tom's mom.<br>- Good morning. How are you doing? – said Tom.  
>- Like hell. I was getting nightmares and…<br>- Wait…- said Collins standing up. – Do you hear that?

A very annoying buzzing sound came from outside and seemed to be getting louder by the second.

A giant explosion busted the ceiling of the trailer open. A giant splinted had missiled through the roof.

- Go outside! – yelled Collins.

As they stepped outside they saw a giant insect circling around the trailer. It looked like a giant yellow jacket wasp but was about the size of a car with purple beating wings. He flew by and made a few sweeps.

- Rex. Synchronize. – yelled Tom. – Rex, hyperthread to Circaetus gallicus.

Rex's body changed to the shape of a gigantic eagle creature which zoomed past the wasp and was able to tackle it with its talons from above. Both creatures struggled and crash landed in front of the trailer. Tom notices this wasp had a glowing bracelet around his neck.

- Rex. Peck on the bracelet. – commanded Tom.

Rex obeyed and the collar exploded on contact sending Rex flying to the ground.

Rex changed his shape back to normal and the wasp took off and flew northbound. Everybody could see in that moment that a convoy of military vehicles was approaching from that direction.

The wasp started to fire stingers at the tanks tearing them apart.

The tanks fired the artillery impacting the wasp with no effect. The infantry stepped down and aimed their riffles at it and started firing. Nothing. The bullets would just bounce off.

- Bring more ammo here. – said the sergeant yelling orders.

One agent in a suit stepped down of the car with a suitcase.

- Bullets won't work Serge. – said the agent opening the suitcase and assembling a strange looking sniper rifle.

- Cover me. – he instructed.

- Convoy 1. Fire! – instructed the sergeant as the shells blasted the wasp who turned around and kept firing stingers.

- I got you now….. – murmured the agent firing a single round which made contact.

The wasp plummeted and crash landed disintegrating after becoming immobile.

- We need to get to the base hurry. – yelled Fred telling his companions to go on foot. – Hurry up.

They ran to the entrance of a mine shaft. Fred took a dynamite stick stashed at the entrance and as they went into the tunnel Fred lighted the stick and tossed it to the entrance.

- Fire in the hole! – said Fred running crazy ahead of the group.

The explosion rattled the cave and made the entrance cave in.


	8. DISK 8

DISK 8 

CELL BLOCK C

- Is everybody ok? – asked Collins picking himself up from the floor after the blast.  
>- Are you crazy? – yelled David after standing up taking Collins by the shirt.<br>- I had to! – replied Collins. – Otherwise those tanks would have blown us to pieces!

Meanwhile Tom was struggling to get up and was holding his left arm. His shirt on that side was stained with blood. With the dim lantern fitted at the wall Mandy could see that a splinter had blown off and grazed his arm. Mandy ripped the rest of Tom's sleeve and tried to apply pressure. There was a huge gash beneath.

Tom's mom was at the point of fainting and David was very upset at Rex and looked at him very displeased. Rex shrugged his shoulders and felt frustrated and sad. 

- Leave the family feud for later. We have to move on. – called Collins releasing himself from David's grip. He then approached Rex and bent to look at him in the eye. He was about to cry. 

- Listen, listen to me. – called Collins firmly putting his hand on Rex's shoulder who was about to break out in weeps. – We are depending on you, ok?. Tom depends on you! – said Collins desperately trying to prevent Rex going into a meltdown. 

Tom noticed this and separated from Mandy and bent close to Collins.  
>- I am ok. Rex. – said Tom reassuringly. – You did a good job. – Then he showed the covered wound. – Look, now we have matching battle wounds. – said Tom smiling struggling with the pain.<br>Rex noticed the bandaged wound he had before that had completely healed. Rex raised his head and looked confident again.  
>- We need to move now. – said Collins standing up.<br>- Do you know where we need to go? – asked Mandy.  
>- No. – said Collins looking around the tunnel. – I have never been beyond the entrance. I know there is a huge maze beyond this point. You can die from getting lost in there so I never ventured far.<br>- Any ideas then? – asked David getting himself together after the altercation.  
>- Our best bet is to get to the cell blocks and try to release the creatures they have there. Rex has the schematics so he can guide us there. – said Collins looking at Rex who diligently walked to the far side of the tunnel beckoning everybody to come. It looked like he wanted to vindicate himself.<br>- It's too dark in here. – commented Mandy but at the same time light beams came out of Rex's eyes like headlights showing the way.  
>They walked for several hours. Rex could visualize the map of the underground in his head. Tom's mom struggled with the high heels trying to maneuver over the small puddles of water. Sometimes she had to hold on to the dirt wall not to slip. The water dripping could be heard clearly echoing all over the cavern as they had walked several miles underground.<br>Finally the hall widened slightly. The humming machinery could be heard closer and closer with every step. The dirt walls were gradually replaced by tall metallic cabinets which housed thousands of miles of cables. The floor also went from dirt to aligned aluminum sheets. The open area looked like a storage facility. Boxes were stacked on the sides fastened with straps. On the far side there was a metal ladder against the wall going to a higher level.  
>Everybody felt optimistic as they came to the area which was lit with several standing lamps. Rex finally was able to rest his eyeballs when he felt something ramming him on the side.<br>- Vee head-butt! – was all that the others could hear as Rex was sideswiped to the nearest metal wall. Mandy yelled as both creatures smashed into the crates on the far side of the room.  
>Rex grabbed the incoming creature's neck and swung him against the wall. The creature counter attacked with a punch square on Rex's face. Then, Rex pushed the attacker away and then fired his shards. The reptilian creature sidestepped very quick and grappled to the wall close by vertically upside down.<br>- You'll never leave alive. – hissed the creature lifting his head looking at the group of humans. A glowing bracelet was fastened to his neck.  
>He released the wall and then leapt against Rex and started swinging. Rex was blocking the blows but the other creature was quick. His claws slashed the left arm of Rex making him angrier so he charged and clipped the creature against the wall who then turned and kicked with a sommersault. Rex leaped back and was standing intact despite of the fresh wound on his arm.<br>- VM -001. Evolve. – said the voice of the marine in the command room on a high turret that had the window looking out to the loading area. Next to him an agent was holding a suitcase.  
>VM-001 grew in size to a height of 10 ft becoming more muscular and developed bat wings on his back. He had a large horn on his face. On his belly there was big grey X mark.<br>- Let's level this. – said Tom. – Rex. Synchronize. Hyperthread to Ursus actos.  
>Rex enlarged as well and changed shape to the point it was recognizable that it was a giant grizzly bear.<br>The creatures clashed head on and slammed each other into the walls of the place. It looked like a freaky sumo fight.  
>The collar was made of wired nylon and it stretched and stayed snuggled to VM-001's neck. Rex was tossed to the other side of the room by a flash of light coming from the other creature X mark on his belly. Then, he charged to tackle again.<br>- Rex. The collar! - yelled Tom.  
>Rex was able to shove VM-001 away and was able to slash the collar with his bear claw. VM-001 growled loudly and knelt on the ground. He emitted a loud deafening roar that rattled the whole place.<br>- Sir. We have a situation down here in the dock close to cell block C. VM-001 detected intruders but I have lost control of him now. – reported the marine to the main floor commander. He then, told the accompanying agent to prepare the EMP rifle to fire.  
>The agent had the crosshairs on VM-001 but this time Rex could see him from afar and fired his shards killing the sniper but it was too late since he had already taken the shot.<br>Rex tackled VM-001 to the side. The projectile zipped through on the side missing by few inches piercing one of the mainframe closets. The EMP projectile exploded into a blue spark that made everything dark suddenly.  
>In the central command post above there was chaos with the sudden blackout.<br>Spencer rose from his desk startled by the roaring sound that rattled the walls of his office.  
>- Spencer! – called the marine opening the door of the office.<br>- What the hell is going on? – asked Spencer as the lights came on with the backup generator.  
>Spencer was very upset when he put on his headset contacting the marine on the lower level.<br>- I can't control him anymore…- called the marine. – The amplifier was destroyed.  
>- Imbecile, why didn't you report in before! - yelled Spencer feeling humiliated that the enemy he was looking for was practically beneath his nose.<br>Specer's superior approached him and held his shoulder.  
>- I am calling in an evacuation. – said the agent calmly.<br>- Are you nuts! We are not leaving! We can put this under control.  
>- Spencer. There are dozens of those creatures down there and there is no power down there. If they break out we'll have an insurrection in here.<br>- Fine! You coward! – said Spencer as the lights finally came back on line. – I am activating project Centurion. – said Spencer which made the other agent freeze in his place.  
>- What? – said the other agent turning around. – You know you can't do that without my help.<br>Then, two whooshing noises could be heard and few seconds later the other agent was dead on the ground.  
>- I know… - said Spencer putting away his pistol with silencer.<p> 


	9. DISK 9

DISK 9  
>INSURRECTION<p>

Spencer started barking orders around and then went to the PA system. The subordinates were speechless after what happened.

- Attention! There is a break in in cell block C. Please proceed to the storeroom and pick your EMP riffles and munitions. – Spencer said through the base PA system. His voice was loud and resonated all the way down to cell block C.

Some of the marines walked away slowly. They knew how dangerous those creatures were. The newcomers were more than happy to pick up their EMP rifle to try to engage the enemy.  
>Jack Stewart who had been on the base for a long time saw what had happened. Before the power went out he saw the other creature tackling VM-001 to protect him from the EMP round.<br>Suddenly, he felt he was on the wrong side of the battle and left the main command post down to cell block C unarmed. He wanted to help.

Spencer dragged the body of his supervisor to an elevator on the far side of the room that had on the side a rounded photoelectric that was a retinal scanner. The front door had in big letters written:

"AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY"  
>"BIOCONTAINMENT AREA"<p>

Spencer opened his eye in front of the cell.  
>- Code name, Spencer, clearance type 6. Secondary clearance required. – voiced the metallic voice of the computer.<p>

Spencer lifted the head of his former commanded and opened his eye in front of the photoelectric cell.  
>- Code name Bodicker, clearance type 6. Access granted.<p>

Meanwhile, at the dock area next to cell block C, Rex had returned to normal as well as VM-001.  
>VM-001 shook his head briefly and stood still and confused. Rex stood back but stayed on guard just in case standing in front of the humans.<br>- Who are you? – Tom finally asked.  
>- My name is Veemon. – said the reptilian creature in a friendly fashion which was the opposite to his actions few minutes ago.<br>Veemon adjusted his eyes to the dark and was able to see the ones in front of him.  
>- Rex? – he finally said outloud. – Brice made it out! Excellent! – said Veemon cheerfully.<br>Rex stood speechless. He could not understand anything this creature was saying.  
>- You knew Robert Brice? – asked Mandy.<br>- Yes. Who are you?  
>- My name is Mandy. How do you know about Rex?<br>- It's a long story. We have to go and start releasing the others before the power is restored down here.

Rex once again used his eyes to illuminate the area. Veemon was struggling to get up. He looked very weak.

- Are you ok? – asked Tom to the creature. Meanwhile Tom's mom was whimpering behind them in fear seeing this unusual creature before her. David went to comfort her. – It's ok. Shirley…..  
>- I don't know what's happening to me… -said Veemon struggling to get up looking breathless.<br>- Must have been the power failure. – said Tom looking at his cell phone in the dark. It had died completely. The EMP had disrupted all electronic equipment in the cell block.

They walked up the platform into the maze of pod like cells. All were amazed by the vastness of the place.

As they passed by the pod named GTM-001, they saw metal claws bending the front door like a crowbar. Finally the door forcefully opened and a furry white creature came out. The blue eyes could be seen as Rex shone the light on her. She looked like a large angora cat with purple markings on her tail and the tips of her ears. She walked on stalky hind legs and on the front paws she wore thick leader gloves which had on the end large broad claws.

- Rex! – said the creature embracing Rex making Veemon a little bit uncomfortable. – Brice was able to get you out.  
>- What? You also know Rex? – asked Tom to the furry creature.<br>- Yes. He was on the cell next to mine. – said the creature turning to the humans. – My name is Gatomon. – Rex, what happened to Robert! Have you seen Gazimon? – asked Gatomon looking at Rex who seemed puzzled with the question.  
>- Who? – asked Mandy.<br>- Gazimon. He was pulled from his cell few days ago. We don't know where he went. He is about as tall as us and had grey fur and looked like what you humans call a rabbit.  
>Tom realized she was talking about the creature that was destroyed in the office fire.<br>- He was killed with this. – said Tom showing the EMP projectile to Gatomon.  
>Gatomon went in shock and as her tears slid down her cheek he embraced Veemon.<br>- How about Brice? –asked Veemon.  
>- He was killed. We don't know how…..- replied Tom.<br>- The bastards killed him…. – muttered Gatomon.  
>- Come on. – said Veemon holding Gatomon's shoulders - We have to restore the power here or we will die too. – said Veemon.<p>

Gatomon regained her senses and talked to the humans.  
>- The manual generator is on the top ledge there. Come on. – said Gatomon leading the way.<br>Tom climbed up and cranked the generator. The lights came on dimly.

Suddenly they could hear voice resonating distantly in the corridors.  
>- Attention! There is a break in in cell block C. Please proceed to the storeroom and pick your EMP riffles and munitions.<br>- Shit!. We are gonna have company soon. – said Fred. – Let's release the others. Quick.  
>They went around the cells disconnecting cables randomly hoping it would have an effect.<br>They were working on cell RNM-001.  
>As Fred disconnected one of the cables and the door opened a furry yellow creature pounced on him. It was as tall as Fred and had sharp claws and was wearing a purple wrist bands. Her face was triangular and yellow with pointy ears. She took Fred by the neck.<br>- You'll die scum! – said the creature hissing angrily.  
>Gatomon yelled and tried to get between them.<br>- Renamon! It's ok! They are Robert's friends. – yelled Gatomon jumping and yelling to get the attention of the attacking creature.  
>Renamon snarled with disdain as she released Fred slowly. Fred coughed trying to regain his breath and recovering from being scared to death.<br>Suddenly a uniformed man came down the steps of the stairwell nearby. Renamon was ready to pounce on him.  
>- Wait! Wait! I am unarmed! - said the man. - See. – said the man raising his hands in the air to prove what he was saying and in that moment his walkie talkie emitted static.<br>- You're bringing the others here you son of a…- yelled Tom.  
>- No!. I barred the access elevator. They will have to go around the base on the other side to get down here.<br>Suddenly, an alarm siren started to sound briefly followed by a verbal announcement.  
>- Attention. Cell block A and B are offfline. Repeat, cell block A and B are offline.<br>Everybody looked puzzled except Jack Stewart and the creatures that had been released.  
>- Crap, those cells are offline. – muttered Stewart.<br>- What does that mean? - said Tom out loud. Are they friends of yours? – he said turning anxiously to Veemon and Gatomon.  
>- They are more powerful than the ones in this block and nastier. They were the ones these humans were experimenting most on. They must be very angry now. – said Gatomon.<br>Rumbling sounds came from the upper floors. Suddenly explosions could be heard.  
>Stewart took his walkie talkie out and tried to tune the right frequency.<br>- We have multiple contacts! – yelled a man over the radio. – Cover me, cover me! – then an explosion could be heard followed by a yell and then static. He changed the frequency.  
>- We are surrounded! Bullets are no good!. Oh my god! We need backup! Arrhghhhhhhhhh– then another scream and the radio went silent.<p>

Sounds of gun fire could be heard from afar. Many soldiers thought the EMP riffle was a sissy toy and picked up heavy but conventional weapons. It was a big mistake.

- We have to go to the South Entrance to escape. – said Stewart signaling the other to follow him.

Quickly they scrambled to release the rest of the creatures in that block. They were of all sizes and colors. Some were furry and cute and other were gelatinous and deformed. Most of them had a calm demeanor and maybe that was why they were all imprisoned in the same cell block.

- Those cells looked very frail. – commented Tom. – Why didn't you escape before?  
>- The cell in the inside when is active is a powerful electrostatic field. You are suspended there and you can barely move. – said Gatomon explaining how the cells worked as they ran to the south corridor of the base.<br>- Gatomon touched the computer panel next to the huge blast doors on the far side. She negotiated with the computer.

"ACCESS OVER RIDE. GRANTED. "

The blast doors opened with a hiss and a loud noise of clanging metal. As the doors opened three marines came in and started firing.

About a dozen of gelatinous green creatures with bug eyes pounced on the soldiers like a tsunami. Soon the three soldiers were immobilized by the gelatinous goo from these creatures. Unfortunately on the way down some were impacted by an EMP round and disintegrated them on contact.

Gatomon looked away in horror as well as Veemon and Renamon.

- Poor Numemons. – said Gatomon with grief as they ran through the door to the corridor.

Rex suddenly started to feel uncomfortable. He felt ringing in his ears. Something was calling him. He broke away from the group down one of the steel corridors.  
>- Rex! – yelled Tom breaking from the rest of the group following behind.<br>- Tom! Where are you going? – yelled Shirley among the group of creatures walking in tandem.  
>- I'll be ok mom. Follow Fred to the exit.<br>Mandy, Stewart, Veemon and Gatomon followed Tom down the corridor. Finally they stopped as they saw Rex stopping close to a security door. The door had on the front the words.

"ROBERT BRICE pHD"

As Rex approached the door he felt a scanning beam on his eyes. The door suddenly opened.  
>Rex came inside and everybody else followed. Inside there was a bunk bead on the side and in the middle a 40 inch computer flat screen.<p>

As they came in, the computer screen frame pinhole flashed Rex's face with a scatter beam and the screen came on. It was Robert Brice again.

- Hello Rex. – said Robert sweetly. – I am so happy you are back. If you have a hard time remembering me, don't be afraid. That's largely my fault. Wiping your memory bank was the only way to get you out of the base to prevent the tracking computer from detecting you. This mainframe connected to the network has detected that Project Centurion was activated. This is my worst fear. It seems that Spencer has got to his maximum level of madness. This is the reason I called you here. I anticipated Spencer would use this as a desperate move to keep control. I am confident that you and the other creatures will be able to stop Spencer. – said Brice in a concerned tone of voice, then he continued. - There is something that you need to know about yourself. You see, when we found that other world and creatures, we were fascinated at the beginning. We could not wait to study and gather data. But others had another agenda. Biillions of dollars were being put in our doorstep to keep investigating and then Spencer was made head of the operation. I found out that many of the most powerful and rich people on earth had found out about this. Knowing that Digimon could interact with computers and data and modify their programming easily they set out in a project to enslave them. After that it became hellish. Creatures on that other world were starting to disappear. Spencer was always coming forward to reassure them that everything was under control.  
>What was happening is that small and tame digimon were being abducted and held in cell block C with the attempt to develop mind control experiments like the amplifier collar.<br>Then, one day, a huge explosion happened at the dwellings of the largest and most powerful digimon. Spencer came along and said he could protect them in a safe place so they trusted him and Spencer trapped them in the electropods he had created. In the operation, Spencer's son was killed which fueled the rage in him much more.

I was angry when I realized this. When I spoke to Spencer he said he had orders to secure the creatures; that our priority now was trying to control them instead of understanding them.  
>I knew digimon had particular vulnerabilities and were being watched very carefully so they could not escape, so I set out to create my own synthetic creature using my cat's DNA, Gatomon's digital DNA and my own to bypass the security. I created you Rex to try to make things right. I was able to infiltrate you to meet the other digimon, to learn about their abilities so I could then set you free. When Spencer started to become suspicious I decided it was time for us to leave. – Brice sighed finishing the sentence.<br>I know it is still cloudy for you but eventually you will remember. As I worked on creating you, you became like a son to me. I am very proud and I love you very much. Good luck Rex. – finished Robert in a hurry because it seemed somebody was banging at his door in the recording. Then the screen faded to black.

- That's why you don't remember us….. – said Gatomon.  
>- It's horrible. – said Mandy.<br>- That explains a lot. – said Stewart lighting a cigarette. – Spencer is a greedy bastard. – he said with a chuckle.  
>- What's so funny? You are the ones who helped him with this. – replied Tom angry at the roughed marine.<br>- Look kid. – said Stewart puffing the smoke. – I was drafted into this. Poor neighborhood, no future. So the company gave me a chance as a contractor with the military. We were being told we were guarding vicious, insensitive creatures. Most of us went along. – said Stewart remembering his other co-workers.  
>- At the beginning it was fun and exciting. But soon it became a mechanical duty. – At the beginning some at the base were friends with those creatures and we were learning a lot.<br>After Spencer arrived, protocols changed. Curfews, lockups, and the training was more combat based every time. We were implanted chips that could interface with the creatures in an attempt to control them. This proved difficult and from that frustration hate started to grow upon us. Soldiers coming in were insensitive pricks and behaved like monsters. I remember how they would mock Brice and his friendly demeanor with the digimon. "Hey, Brice, you and that thing are getting too close, next time you know you'll be in bed with one of them" yelled one of the marines as the others bursted in laughter. – It became unbearable. Brice could not stand the level of torture he was witnessing. – said Stewart remembering how one time he saw digimon were being pushed around with cattle prods that had on the tip a micro EMP generator.  
>- What is project Centurion? – asked Mandy.<br>- I don't know exactly. I have never seen it – replied Stewart. – What I know and what we just heard from Brice is that it's a project similar to RX-2001. A synthetic creature that will obey all the commands of the human that controls him.

A rattling explosion and then gunfire could be heard in one of the distant corridors. This told the group they had to leave.


	10. DISK 10

DISK 10  
>CHOOSING SIDES<br>Montecarlo, Europe

The very wealthy man was enjoying the outdoors in one of his lavish mansions, one of dozens he owned. He was lying on the patio in shorts that sunny afternoon when his butler came in with a guest.

- Lord Amster. How is life treating you? – said the guest with a British accent.

- Doing quite well Lord Midler. – replied the host rising from the chair.

- I see you forgot about our chess and tea reunion.

- Sorry, I got absent minded. Shall we get the chessboard?  
>As they sat down to play the butler came in with the mobile touch screen phone.<p>

- Lord Amster. It seems you have a call regarding an operation you are invested in America.

- What of the many would that be? - said Amster chuckling making Midler laugh as well.  
>- They are talking about something called Digital Spear. – said the butler in a cold and mannered composure.<br>- Oh….- replied Amster. – I see…..Any details?

- Project Centurion seems to have been activated sir. – replied the butler.

- Hmmm…. Really. – thought Lord Amster calmly thinking about the project he had invested billions along with other people involving the creation of artificial life that could interact with computers. If successful he could have an army of those life forms to control telecommunications, the stock market and businesses. Competing wealthy people were having multidisciplinary teams working on the same project all around the world in a race to the top. The activation of project Centurion in his thoughts was premature and reckless. Losing one of the sites would not compromise anything. – Call this number. – said Amster handing to the Butler a piece of paper. – Tell them to execute scenario 3140.

- Any problems, Lord Amster? – asked Lord Midler with a smile on his face.

- Nothing major. It's just that sometimes, keeping a secret is hard, don't you think? – asked Lord Amster without losing his calm. – Shall we start our game?

Meanwhile, Tom, Mandy and the others ran back to the main corridor after they heard the explosion. As they turned sharply to the right, there was another explosion ahead and from the smoke they saw two creatures approaching them. One looked like an orange, scaly t-rex and the other looked like a walking plant with a lily pad on top of her head, green skin and big alien like eyes. Her arms ended in pointed vines.

- Agumon! – yelled Veemon as he saw the orange dinosaur approaching.  
>Veemon's excitement fizzled when behind both creatures a bigger one showed up. Half of his body was that of a horse and the other half was that of a man. His human head was covered with a helmet and a glittering red eye could be seen though a narrow opening in the middle. He had fired a cannon attached from his right arm at the group.<p>

- Run back! - yelled Agumon, the orange small dinosaur. – It's Centaurmon.  
>All the group turned back and ran to the end of the corridor as the blast hit the opposite wall.<p>

Stewart took a flashbang from his belt.

- Cover your eyes! – Fire in the hole! – he yelled tossing the flashbang which exploded in front  
>of the approaching creature making him blind.<br>The plant like creature turned around and as Centaurmon crashed onto the corner of the corridor blinded by the flashbang she lashed her vines out wrapping Centaurmon's hind legs.

- Heel boy! – cried the plant like creature pulling on her vines making the creature stumble back.

- Nice job Palmon. – said Veemon leaping forward propelling himself to Centaurmon. – Vee  
>headbutt. – yelled Veemon hitting Centaurmon squarely on the chest making him fall completely to the ground knocking him out cold.<p>

- Go, go ! – yelled Stewart at the rest of the group squeezing past Centaurmon.  
>As they advanced, the corridor turned darker and the landscape became gradually all covered by a viscid, sticky substance that as they got to the adjoining cargo area looked like a giant spider web.<br>Ahead of them they could see and hear the flashing of gunfire that illuminated the place briefly. Two soldiers were on the ground aiming erratically at the ceiling.  
>- Can you see it, Lowell? - yelled one of the soldiers.<p>

- Shit! I can't see it! It went up again! - replied McIntosh.

- Tom! - yelled the female voice from the far side. It was Shirley who was hiding behind some crates with the others and ran off when she saw her son.

- Mom! Don't come close! - yelled Tom.  
>In that moment, Lowell was pulled by a thick thread to the ceiling. The scream was followed by gunfire followed by the assault rifle banging against the beams and finally clang onto the spider web covered floor.<p>

- Die you bastard! – yelled McIntosh firing his rifle to the roof in all directions. – Where are you? – he yelled with an echo that could be heard all around the corridor. Then a thread came out of nowhere and pulled him into the darkness. (Wilhelm scream)  
>As McIntosh screams died out, Shirley ran to the arms of his son, when suddenly a thick thread surrounded her waist and pulled her out suddenly.<p>

- Mom! – yelled Tom.

- Tom! – yelled Shirley with a shrill cry.

- Stand back! – yelled Agumon looking up to the ceiling. – Pepper breath! – cried the orange dragon spitting out a 5x5 inch fireball that illuminated the ceiling progressively as it traveled to the target.  
>With the impact a piercing cry could be heard and the ones below could glimpse the attacker briefly. It was a giant spider with a very large head and enormous fangs sticking out. The body on the back was large and at the forehead and the back it had a mark that looked like a skull.<br>Shirley plummeted to the ground that was covered with the viscid substance, breaking her fall. Fortunately, she had not gone up far or she would have been killed.  
>Tom was very angered at this.<p>

- Rex, synchronize. Hyperthread to…. – but Agumon stopped him getting in front of them.

- Wait. This one is mine! – said Agumon.  
>Once again, as it happened before with Veemon the small dinosaur changed and became a huge dinosaur with a brown helmet with horns. This time the creature seemed to be in control of the transformation.<p>

- Agumon….digivolve to….Greymon! – yelled Agumon before he changed, triggering a flashback on Rex.  
>Rex remembered what had happened after a drill where he was challenged to evolve.<p>

- Brice! Get your butt here! – yelled one of the field Sergeants of the drill. – Why is this one not evolving? – yelled the sergeant.  
>Brice did not expect that drill happening without his supervision. He ran to the side of Rex.<p>

- Are you sure you are doing it right? – asked Brice.

- Don't be a smartass with me Brice and tell me what's going on. – demanded the sergeant.  
>Brice made the motions that he pulled his laptop and punched some keys. Brice was sweating. He was trying to make something up to explain why this creature was not like the others.<br>- Well!...- said the sergeant.

- You are using the wrong terminology. Tell the marine to use this word. – said Brice replying to the sergeant.

- Hyperthread? What the hell is that? Why not "evolve", like the others?

- Didn't you want this fixed? – replied Brice stammering and raising his voice slamming the laptop closed. Rex was trembling close to his knee.

- Fine! - said the sergeant with a hiss. – Resume training RX-2001. On the double.  
>Rex remembered when he returned to the cell and was able to sneak out because he was able to cheat out the electrostatic field of the cell. He was able to go to Brice's studio.<p>

- Hi Rex. – saluted Brice. - Sorry about what happened… I did not expect they would train today. The evolution is the only process I have not been able to replicate to perfection. – said Brice. – Use the abilities you have as much as you can. We may have to leave sooner than we thought.  
>Rex shook up from remembrance as Greymon leapt to battle the giant spider. Fred beckoned the group from the nearby crates on the farside of the room. The exit to the adjoining corridor was left open and now the spider was distracted.<p>

The rest ran for the exit. Stewart picked Shirley from the ground and carried her because she had broken her ankle with the fall.

As they passed to the next corridor they could hear rumbling and battle sounds.

- What the hell was that? – asked Mandy looking back.

- Dokugumon. He has a very bad temper. – explained Gatomon. - Let's hope Greymon can hold him off while we get out.  
>They were heading for the South area cargo bay. From the scaffold upstairs they could see in the lower level soldiers shooting to a creature that was able to teleport quickly beating the soldiers unconscious.<p>

He was a 6 feet rust colored skeleton with a helmet on the skull with bat wings on the side. A long drape covered his waist. His limbs were metallic and he held a scepter with a rounded sphere in one end, and the other end had the shape of a sickle.

- Fire! Fire! – yelled the Seargent on the ground to the remaining soldiers who fired their EMP weapons, however this digimon with a wave of his scepter was able to deactivate the probes before they made contact. With another motion of the scepter soldiers were sent flying like ragdolls against the walls.

- Stop that! – Tom heard from Rex in his head as he leapt down to the lower level.

- Rex! Get back here! – yelled Tom. – God damn it! - hissed Tom running to the stairwell so he could go down below.

- Tom. I want to fight! – said Rex to Tom as he saw him behind him.  
>The skeleton turned around and saw the creature at his feet and laughed out loud. He then noticed Gatomon and Veemon close to the other humans.<p>

- You traitors will die for joining these parasites! – hissed the skeleton creature pointing the rounded side of the scepter to both digimon.

- Not without a fight Skullsatamon! – yelled Gatomon leaping forward.

- Tom, let's go. – demanded Rex.

- Here we go Rex. Hyperthread to Ursos Actos. – said Tom and Rex became a giant bear once  
>again now matching the size of the giant skeleton.<br>Rex swung with his claws and Skullsatamon blocked with his scepter and countered hitting Rex's belly making him stagger. Gatomon leapt and swung her glove clawed paws connecting the left side of Skullsatamon's face.

- You little pest! – yelled Skullsatamon swinging at Gatomon but she was too fast. She sommersaulted backward and stood in a menacing stance.

- Let's dance! – hissed Gatomon.

- How pathetic… - said Skullsatamon dodging an attack from Rex and then hitting him on the back of the head with scepter and then batted him sending Rex flying against the wall.  
>Rex got up bruised up but willing to fight.<p>

- You are not even a digimon! You are not even a human! What a sad excuse of a creature you are. – taunted Skullsatamon.

Rex got angry and leapt forward attacking fiercely and Gatomon along with him.  
>They threw punches quickly but Skullsatamon blocked them with ease.<p>

- I've had it! – yelled Skullsatamon banging the scepter on the ground.  
>A giant shockwave rattled the place and propelled Rex and Gatomon against the wall.<p>

- Gatomon! – yelled Veemon and once again he transformed. – Veemon digivolve to X-Veemon.  
>The creature that had attacked Rex previously was on their side and now was joining the attack punching skullsatamon on the face sending him flying against crates nearby.<p>

- No more Mr nice guy! – said Skullsatamon rising from the ground. The rounded edge of the scepter glowed with menace.

- Get to the ground! – Gatomon yelled to the group of humans who ducked.  
>With a yell the scepter glowed with a burst and it burnt objects directly in front of his path. Rex was severely burned and when he fell on the ground he went back to normal. X-veemon and gatomon were also hit and landed on the ground. Veemon was unconscious. Gatomon was barely able to stand.<p>

Skullsatamon approached the three fallen with the intent of finishing them off.

- It was a nice try losers. Good bye. – said Skullsatamon but he was hit on the side by a haze of transparent shards.

- Diamond storm! – had yelled the creature that met the humans previously and attacked Fred.

- Renamon…..- said Gatomon weakly. – I'm glad you're here….. – said Gatomon fainting.

- What? You are helping this filth? – said Skullsatamon.

- It's not their fault we were imprisoned. – said Renamon calmly standing a few feet away.

- Don't give me that crap! – said Skullsatamon. – If you have decided to become their pet and fight me I'll tear you apart.

- I will also fight you Skullsatamon. – said another creature coming from the side door.  
>He looked like a 5 foot man wearing a pointy hat with a skull ornament. His face was partially covered and was wearing a cape. He was wearing long pointer leather boots and brandished a scepter as well.<p>

- Fine. Your treachery won't go unpunished! You die here! – said Skullsatamon teleporting and hitting Renamon and the newcomer.  
>Renamon landed in pain but the new digimon was able to block the attack.<p>

- How weak! Do you think I was using all my power against those pipskeaks? – taunted Skullsatamon.

- I know Skullsatamon! – said the new Digimon raising his scepter in the air.

- Cover your eyes! – yelled Renamon to the group of humans.  
>When he landed the scepter on the ground a blinding light invaded the place and tore apart crates and vehicles parked in the area. Tom, Mandy, Fred and Steward braced for impact. Steward embraced Tom's parents.<p>

They felt they were lifted off the ground. The shockwave hit skullsatamon directly sending him flying out the ceiling of the warehouse. A huge cloud of dust formed on the ground. When it all cleared it did not remain peaceful for long because then one of the wall of the building bursted and two figures came in clashing. Doguwamon and Greymon were still fighting. Greymon looked scratched and burned by the spit acid from the opponent but Doguwamon was weaker.

- Nova flame! – yelled Greymon impacting Doguwamon directly sending him flying out the warehouse.

In that moment he changed back to Agumon and ran to help the others. Then the ground started to shake like a giant earthquake. The ground was moving like if the base was alive. The blastdoors next to the warehouse opened up.

Meanwhile at the South Command of the Army the red phone started ringing.

- South Command post. – picked the soldier. – Ok. Roger that. – said the soldier hanging up. – then he took out a procedure manual and looked for procedure 3140. When he looked what it was he started to make phone calls.

Skullsatamon was angry. He rose from the ground seething for revenge. Dokugumon had practically landed next to him. He was also very angry and wanted to get even. As they got up to go back to the warehouse somebody stopped them.

- Wait! – said the figure behind them.

- Lord Daemon… - said Skullsatamon kneeling in front of the tall creature wearing long red robes. His head was concealed in a hood from where horns came out of each side. He had bat like wings on his back and a medallion hung from his neck.

- Forget about them. – said Daemon with deep voice. - I have intercepted the radio transmissions in this world. It seems humans elsewhere want to come and wipe this area out and will also use a gigantic emitter to shut everything down.

- They will kill their own allies? – asked Dokugumon.

- It seems that that's what they want. We need to look for the portal to go back to our world and regroup. Leave the treacherous ones to die by the hands of the ones they consider protectors.  
>- Serves them right. – spat Skullsatamon.<p> 


	11. DISK 11

DISK 11  
>PROJECT CENTURION<p>

(IMPORTANT NOTICE: In this chapter and the next, characters from the fanfiction story DIGIMON REBOOT, are referenced(Poemon, Irbimon, Siberimon, Odocomon, Ailurmon, Caesarmon). Here is their website. .net This is an awesome fanfic that every digimon fan should read)

Spencer turned the safety key of the elevator to get to the upper lever. He was dominated by anger and frustration. He always liked to win.

- I'll show them who the boss is! – he said to himself grinding his teeth.  
>The elevator opened up and the room above was red lit. Spencer walked toward the center of the room which was a deep silo bordered by a round scaffold. The deep silo was separated from the scaffold with a dark and thick Plexiglas sheet.<p>

The main console was active at one of the walls waiting for Spencer's command. On the side there was a panel lit to place his palm.

As he placed his palm the screens around the room lit up and showed the message.  
>PROJECT CENTURION ACTIVATED…..▓<p>

- You'll never go back to your world….. – muttered Spencer as he also deactivated the security systems at Cell block A and B. – That's right…Nothing better to let some blood run… - muttered Spencer licking his upper lip.

Then, the computers prompted that project Centurion was ready to deploy. One of the Plexiglas panels slid open. Spencer stepped in.

- Are you guys ok? – asked the digimon with the cape and boots looking back above his shoulder as he held his scepter that had formed a forcefield around him protecting the humans and digimon nearby. As Greymon changed back into Agumon the glow from the scepter slowly died.

- Shit! – yelled Steward sticking his head out looking at the destruction around not being able to believe that they had survived the aftermath.

- Mom, dad! – yelled Tom looking around. He felt relieved as he saw his folks alive and well braced by Stewart.

In that moment the earth started shaking. The blast door close by opened up and something was emerging to the surface.

With horror everybody at ground level could gradually see first the head of a bull then the head of an eagle and then finally the head of a lion. This was followed by a huge tall 150 feet human body with the bare muscular torso. His arms were human and huge. On the left hand he held a staff ending in a loop and on the right his forearm was wrapped by a metal sleeve that looked like a rocket launcher. The lower part of his body waist down was that of the hind legs of a horse. As the platform rose completely the creature took a step forward with its giant hooves making the floor tremble.  
>Soldiers scrambled around running away but the creature relentlessly stepped on them.<br>Then, it turned away to the northwest and started to walk in that direction stomping at everything in its path.

- What the hell is that! - asked David looking at the giant beast.

- That's Project Centurion, I presume. – replied Stewart.

- Where the hell is he going? – asked Fred coming out of the warehouse with the others.

- How the hell I am supposed to know? – replied Stewart. - Try to have the creatures connect to the base computer to find out. – said Stewart looking at the others but Rex, Veemon, Gatomon and Renamon were all out cold then he turned around looking at the creature walking away. – Wait! He's going northwest….It can't be…

- What! What? – asked Tom leaning toward him to grab Stewart's shirt.

- The bastard is walking to the site where the portal is. He wants to destroy it.

- Stewart! – yelled one of Stewart's fellow soldiers coming from the opposite direction.

- Private!. – said Stewart turning around.

- We have to evacuate! We heard over the radio that South Command is deploying a bomber squad in this direction; probably a napalm payload.

- The bastards want to wipe us out. – muttered Stewart. – Private! Organize the evac. The rest of you. We have to go to the watch tower and regroup.

Tom took Rex in his arms and Fred picked Gatomon. Stewart carried Veemon in one shoulder and staggering on his side were David and Shirley. Renamon staggered beside Mandy.  
>Other Digimon from Cell block C joined them as they ran to the nearby observation tower.<p>

- Marineangemon… - said Renamon staggering next to Mandy when they met a small pink creature drifting in front of them. Most of its body looked like a pink myst and it had a heart shaped mark at the forehead. – Heal us please.  
>The pink creature drifted close to each injured digimon and blew softly close to them.<br>After a few minutes their health was restored.

- Tom… - Rex spoke into Tom's head slowly and weakly but recovering strength as he lied down on Mandy's lap closeby..

- You're ok buddy. We're gonna get out of here, you'll see. – replied Tom softly walking with Stewart to the observation tower computer.  
>Stewart sat at the terminal at the observation tower and started typing.<p>

- We have inbound F-22s, ETA 30 minutes. – he informed outloud.

- Wait, wait! –said David interrupting Stewart looking over the shoulder. – Is that monster going in this direction? – he said pointing at the screen.

- Yes….- said Stewart pointing at the map the fact that the monster was going to walk practically over Las Vegas.

- We have to call in for an evacuation of the city and contact South Command so they can call off the attack. – said the private.

- Who would believe you! Besides, I am sure the command on top knows they want to wipe our ass of this planet.– replied Stewart banging the desk with his fist. – Maybe we can have them intercept the planes to lead them away. – said Stewart pointing at some Digimon gathered at the corner specifically one that looked like a pink plump bird with blue markings on the tip of the wings, a brown bird with a yellow beak and a bandana with a feather on top, a bird with black rounded face and feathers, blue and red markings and a completely black bird with silver bracelets encircling her wings that was shying away behind the others.

- No way in the world! – exclaimed the pink bird. – You had us imprisoned! You expect us to just fly up there and save you after all you have done to us!  
>The other three birds did not want to argue and stood behind the pink bird with blue markings.<p>

- You have to help us! – replied Stewart. – That thing and the inbound fighters are going to destroy your only way back home.

Even with these arguments the birds would not change their mind.  
>Gatomon had recovered and climbed down from Fred's lap and walked to the 4 birds.<p>

- Biyomon, I know you are angry but we don't have much of a choice. If the portal gets destroyed we will be trapped here forever.

- I don't care. – replied Biyomon. – Humans brought us here now they will have to deal with it!

- Please, help us. – replied Gatomon. – Do it for Rex and Robert. – said Gatomon pouting and staring with pleading eyes.

Biyomon sighed with frustration. – Fine fine! Ok! We will see what we can do. Let's interface with the computer to get the coordinates of the inbound birds. We'll try to distract them.  
>Each bird took their turn and very quickly downloaded the trajectories of the incoming aircraft and navigation maps.<p>

- Ok, me and Hawkmon will take this approach. Falcomon and Poemon will take this one. – Let's fly. – announced Biyomon.  
>As the four birds took off, one of the soldiers, friend of Stewart came back to the tower.<p>

- We have vehicles and a helicopter at the main service road ready. We have to evac now sir.

- We have to try to reach the Centurion and beat it to the portal. Let's go. – yelled Stewart to the rest of the people there.  
>Meanwhile the South command was in high alert. They received a message that there had been a biological outbreak in one of the bases in Arizona caused by a terrorist break in. By orders of the high command all of the area should be decontaminated and erased from the map.<p>

- This is bluestreak, do you copy? - said the pilot on board of one of the two F-22 Raptors heading for the coordinates given in Arizona.

- This is redstreak, load and clear. – replied the other pilot on his wing.

- Start recognizance and prepare to engage target.

- Copy that bluestreak.

Meanwhile, up north, the police department at Dolan Springs was receiving hundreds of phone calls to the 911 switchboard.

- Chief. We have another report of some kind of giant thing walking along the shore of Lake Mojave. – said one of the young police officers coming out of the dispatcher office.

- This has to be a joke! – said the chief. – Have you spoken to the feds or the military?

- Tried them both. They either don't know or they don't want to tell.

In that moment the windows of the police station rumbled as the F-22 Raptors flew by at incredible speed.

- Reaching target. – informed one of the pilots. – We'll confirm coordinates for the B-22.

- Bluestreak. It seems we have company. – replied the other pilot.

- Base, we have two boggies on each of our wings. They look like huge birds flying beside us.

Then, Biyomon banked left suddenly cutting off one of the F-22s on the front.

- Wow! – said the pilot. – We have hostiles! Engaging. – said the pilot activating the machine guns of the aircraft.

The other F-22 slowed down to attack speed and fired on Poemon and on Falcomon.

- No way! They are shooting at us! – said Poemon.

- Spread out! – yelled Falcomon.

The F-22 went after Poemon and increased the speed. Poemon felt the plane was gaining on her so in a state of panic she closed her eyes and evolved.

- Poemon overclock digivolve to …Valramon.  
>Poemon became a giant crow with long beak and giant wings that were attached with a membrane on the side of her body like bat wings. With the beat of her wings she accelerated suddenly.<p>

- Bluestreak, boggy changed appearance and is flying away fast. I'm in persuit. – said Redstreak. – No way! Mach 2? What the hell is that thing?

Meanwhile Tom and the others had boarded with the other digimon the cargo helicopter and were in route to the location of the portal. The parents had stayed behind with the Medivac.

- Sir. One of the F-22s is changing course suddenly. - said the radio operator of the helicopter. - They are heading into Las Vegas.

- What the hell? – asked Stewart.


	12. DISK 12

DISK 12  
>WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS.<p>

(Once again. Special appearances by the crew of Digimon Reboot which I don't own. Please visit their website)

The F-22 was in hot pursuit chasing Valramon. They flew fast and approached the glimmering lights of Las Vegas.

- AMRAAM missiles on target. I got tone! Fire! – announced the pilot over the radio.

Two missiles deployed from the side of the raptor chasing Valramon. The pilot did not realize he was entering the civilian air space and that dead ahead was the Stratosphere Restaurant at the Strip.  
>One of missiles chased Valramon relentlessly but the other drifted off course and was going toward the restaurant.<p>

- Oh shit! – said the pilot of the F-22 when he realized he had fired at the restaurant by mistake when suddenly another blackbird flew by making the cockpit rattle.

- Crowmon! Stop that missile. – yelled Valramon.

Falcomon had changed into a giant blackbird with a metallic golden beak and golden fixtures on the side of the wings.

The people at the stratosphere rose from their tables and started scrambling for the exits as they saw a fiery streak coming at them.

- Savage emperor! - yelled Crowmon as the fixtures of his wings lit up and a golden lightbeam came piercing the AMRAAM projectile in two which exploded nearby the windows of the Stratosphere shattering all of them.

In the meantime, people on the strip saw the flying spectacle of Valramon being chased at low altitude by the other AMRAAM missile.

- Look mommy! Fireworks! – said one of the children beside the mother as they came out of one of the shops at the strip seeing the black shadow blazing past through.  
>Valramon gained altitude suddenly and guided the missile away from the city then turned around.<p>

- Night Strike! – yelled Valramon diving head on the missile and as a spear pierced the missile in two making it explode in midair.

A crowd on the street of Vegas applauded the spectacle thinking it was part of a show without knowing exactly what was happening.

Valramon flew rapidly toward the F-22 head on.

- Duskbane! – yelled Valramon as thousands of small shadows dislodged from her wings and flew like a swarm toward the incoming aircraft.

The pilot inside, found himself surrounded by darkness as the swarm engulfed the plane. Then he started to hear whispers in his ear.

- Who! Who's there! ? - started the pilot to babble. More whispers came in stinging his brain like needles driving him mad. – Get out of my head! – yelled the pilot pulling the ejection mechanism of the plane bailing out in desperation.

As the pilot drifted down to the city in his parachute, the swarm of shadows disappeared.  
>Few minutes later, the ground at the strip started shaking. Further away the shadow of the giant was seen approaching.<p>

Meanwhile Biyomon and Hawkmon flew on the edge of the city being chased by the other F-22.

- I got this one. Fire! – said the pilot firing the AAMRAAM that connected a direct hit against Hawkmon sending him flying onto a nearby building.  
>Biyomon circled the city as fast as she could; thinking about evolving but as she turned around she realized she was flying straight toward the Centurion who was walking toward the city. On the right shoulder of the monster a man could be distinguished.<p>

- Yes! My Centurion. Show them who the boss is! – yelled Spencer like a maniac perched on the right shoulder of the monster wearing a special helmet.  
>The Centurion aimed the rocket launcher and fired away. Biyomon saw the projectiles coming and banked briskly dodging them by few inches. One of the rockets exploded on the right wing of the approaching F-22 and the shrapnel sent Biyomon spiraling out of control onto the city park grounds. The rest of missiles started to land on the buildings of the Casinos.<p>

- Mayday! Mayday! – yelled the pilot as he struggled to control the aircraft. Then to his horror he realized the ejection mechanism was malfunctioning. The canopy would not pop open.  
>Biyomon rose her face from the mud, stood up and saw the plane engulfed in flames. She had no other choice.<p>

- Biyomon…..Digivolve to…..Birdramon! – yelled Biyomon changing into a 40 ft orange bird with a beak that had teeth on the sides. With the flap of the wings she took off like a rocket leaving a streak of fire behind her.  
>To the crowd below, the spectacle of a trail of fire taking off from the park could be seen from a far.<p>

- Look mom! More fireworks… - said the same child in awe as the streak of fire climbed up close to the F-22.

The pilot looked up and was horrified to see the giant orange bird grappling the canopy with the claws practically yanking it off the hinges.

Birdramon bent her neck to look down at the pilot.

- Hang on! - she said with a deep voice.  
>As the pilot grabbed onto her leg to be pulled away from the cockpit he fainted.<p>

Valramon drifted down to one of the upper floors of the Mirage Hotel where Hawkmon had landed. She changed back to Poemon.

- Where are you? – called Poemon out.  
>Then from the rubble the brown wing stuck out. Poemon went quickly and pulled Hawkmon from beneath.<p>

- Are you ok? – she said Sheepishly.

- Thanks. I am fine. – replied Hawkmon shaking the dirt from his feathers and then looked at  
>Poemon's emerald eyes. – I am fine…..thank you. – he said blushing briefly.<p>

- You're welcome…. – replied Poemon with a shy giggle as she blushed as well.

- What a mess. – said Hawkmon looking out to the street. There were fires everywhere from the hail of missiles coming from the sky. People had scrambled out of the way looking for refuge and then it became worse as the looters came out and started destroying more stuff.

- I know who can help us… - said Poemon contacting her friends remotely.  
>The cargo helicopter was approaching Las Vegas from the east. One of the digimon stood up restless. He was a small feline looking digimon with white fur and black spots.<p>

- Poemon is in trouble. – he said to the group of digimon beside him.

- I say we jump this ship and help her. – replied the other digimon who looked like a white Bengal tiger with black marks.

- Are you coming?

- Nope. I have to finish my manicure…..Of course I will come with you! – replied the digimon that was shaped like a panda wearing heavy golden bracelets on her arms and a white belt around her waist. She was wearing large golden ear rings as well.

- Right behind you Irbimon. – replied the creature that looked like a small deer with pink marks on her back and purple fur tufts on her legs.

- Count me in! – said the creature that looked like a river otter with blue marks on his paws and a long tail with iron rings surrounding it.  
>As they stood up and headed to the rear door Stewart came in.<p>

- What's this ruckus! – he asked.

- We have to help our friend down there. – replied Irbimon.

- Stay here! – demanded Stewart. – We can't afford more of you to be seen.

- We'll come down too. – announced a canine digimon on the aisle. His fur was blue and he was wearing a red bandana on his forehead and red fighting gloves.

- I am helping too. – said Renamon stepping forward.

- Ailurmon. Would you do the honors? – said Irbimon to the Panda stepping aside showing the iron sliding door of the helicopter.

- Are you crazy? We are up in the air right now. You may get killed! – said Stewart.  
>Ailurmon buried her claws on the metal and moved the heavy door with ease. The wind rushed in.<p>

- Don't worry. We are not human… - said Ailurmon jumping out the helicopter and her friends followed behind her.  
>After they landed both feline digimon stood up and looked toward the city.<p>

- We need to move a little faster, eh, brother? – said Siberimon.

- Let's do it! – replied Irbimon. - Irbimon overclock evolve to Skadimon! – said irbimon engulfed in a sphere of light. Then his body changed into a giant 9 foot feline with giant icicles sticking from the top of the skull and on the side of his face. His paws changed to huge claws.

- Siberimon overclock evolve to Hurakamon! ! – said Siberimon changing into a giant gray sabertooth tiger. His mane looked like a curtain of thick smoke over his neck extending to his entire back.

- Odocomon overclock evolve to Rusdramon! – said Odocomon changing into a 10 feet huge stag with thick antlers. Purple orbs rested on the recesses of the antlers. Cuffs of pink fur wrapped her huge legs.

- Ok. Ok. That's good enough! – said Ailurmon. – I'll hitch a ride for now.

- Me too. – said Caesarmon, which was the otter like creature.

- Wanna hitch a ride Gaomon? – asked Renamon to the blue canine digimon.

- I don't hitch rides…. – said Gaomon with a smile on his face. – I'll race you there…..  
>Renamon had already vanished with a head start. Gaomon quickly followed.<br>As the police tried to disperse the crowds at the strip, the two huge felines leapt out of nowhere and walked over the car roofs and disappeared on the far side as the crowd gasped as it happened. Also, the shadow of two creatures could be seen vanishing quickly over the street lights.

- Hey! Check it out! We are worshiped here! – said Hurakamon looking at one of the buildings.

- It's just a statue, dummy! – said Ailurmon pointing at the MGM Grand's golden lion statue.

- Oh my god…. Caesar's palace… - said Caesarmon with eyes filled with awe as he looked further ahead.

- Oh boy….. –said Ailurmon slapping her paw on her head. – Can we take care of the fires now and look for Poemon?

- Yeah, yeah. Ok. – said Skadimon turning to the right toward the Paris casino. – Go over to that one. – he instructed his brother and Caesarmon pointing at the Bellagio hotel that had fires blazing at the lower levels.

Harukamon ran to Bellagio on the opposite side of the street with Caesarmon on his back.

- I can take this one! – said Caesarmon. – Caesarmon overclock evolve to Vespasmon! – said Caesarmon leaping from Harukamon's back changing into a giant walrus like creature with brown fur and covered on top with thick blue fur. The forelimbs were webbed and had sharp claws. Then he plunged onto the fountain in front of the Bellagio. - Pain Geyser! – yelled Vespasmon making the yellow orb on his tail glow. The mass of water of the fountain was at its command and he was able to propel it to the base of the fire at high velocity extinguishing the flames.

- Wind Wrecker! – yelled Harukamon spinning a tornado around him making the water reach the upper floors.

Ailurmon hoped down from Skadimon as they approached the Paris Casino. Yells could be heard from behind one of the exits which was blocked by debris.

- Terra shaker! – yelled Ailurmon punching the floor with such strength that the debris in front of her was blown off by the shockwave. The high velocity wind extinguished the flames.  
>Few seconds later the door busted open and dozens of people came frenetically to the street passing by both digimon almost without noticing them.<br>Yells could be heard still inside. Skadimon leapt inside the casino and inside more fires were blazing.

- Frozen grip! – yelled Skadimon swiping with his claws covered with a white glittering frost that froze debris solid as it fell.

On the farside a girl was lost in the darkness looking for her parents. One of the beams holding the columns gave out and plunged down. Gaomon leapt out of nowhere and grabbed the girl out of the way. The mother gasped with horror and relief at the same time as she saw the creature holding her 4 year old in his arms. Gaomon released her quick and leapt back inside.

- Thank you…. – said the woman waving at the shadow as it disappeared in the smoke.  
>The fire was extinguished but then a fireball exploded inside sending Skadimon, Gaomon and Renamon flying out to the street.<p>

Meanwhile, Lord Midler watched the chessboard carefully trying to figure out his next move. In that moment his cell phone vibrated on his belt.

- Midler…. Yes…When?... Thank you. – said Midler over the phone then hung up.

- Anything wrong Lord Midler? – asked Lord Amster raising his face from the chessboard.

- I received a call. I was told there is a bomber run called for Las Vegas in the United States.. – replied Midler moving his piece on the chessboard. - You should have told me before….

- I'm sorry, I forgot you had some property there. – replied Lord Amster in shock. - Tell you what; call my broker and have them put some option stocks there. When the stock falls after the fire you can collect some chips. – replied Amster as the butler came in with more tea.

- Sorry to interrupt sire, what about the people living there? – interrupted the buttler.

- What about them…?…. – replied Amster. – Oh… Wait you are right! Don't forget to put options on the insurance companies. We can collect big there when they go out to pay death benefits. – continued Amster very excited.

- You are a genius Lord Amster. How are you so brilliant? – replied Lord Midler.

- All is like in war my friend…

- Tell me how so?

In the meantime, Renamon, Gaomon and Skadimon recovered from the explosion. A creature completely engulfed in flames came out of the building.

- Meramon! – said Renamon standing up from the rubble piled up on the street.

- It's all about exploiting the feelings of others…- said Amster moving another piece…- If you use it well you can create allies…

- Also enemies….. – replied Lord Midler taking his turn to move the pieces.

- True. But that depends of how you play your cards. The most important part…. Most people never know they are being played with.

- So, is that project really that expendable? – asked Lord Midler.

- It's part of the game…You always have a backup… - replied Lord Amster moving the Queen to the side.

- You are not helping these humans anymore Renamon. – yelled Meramon. His eyes burned red with wrath. – They enslaved us! They are the evil ones.

- You can't judge them all just because a few….. – yelled Skadimon.

- Yup, it's a very old trick but it has always worked…. – said Amster raising one of his chess pawns to eliminate Midler's queen. – You have useful pawns that think black or white to get what you want….. and you have them from both sides of the equation.

- Fire away my centurion! – yelled Spencer commanding the creature to activate the staff on the right hand. As it hit the ground the staff emitted a spark. The burst made everything lose electrical power and all the digimon were sent to their knees below.

The helicopter was flying nearby and lost power.

- We lost the engines. We are coming down! – announced the pilot to the rest of the crew.

- Brace yourselves! – announced Stewart strapping to his seat.  
>The pilot was able to maneuver to land the helicopter close by a few miles away from the Centurion. Everybody stepped down quickly and regrouped.<p>

- How far are we from the portal? –asked Tom.

- It's 50 miles North. – said Stewart. Then he stopped and looked shocked

- What? What's happening? – asked Tom.

- I realized that the portal access site requires a special access key. – replied Stewart.

- Do you have the key?

- No. Spencer has it…


	13. DISK 13

Disk 13

EXODUS

- We lost communications. Last transmission confirmed an inbound B-27 bomber in this direction. ETA 25 minutes. – said one of the communication soldiers to Stewart.

- We need to get that key…..- said Stewart looking up at the giant beast few miles ahead.

Spencer was enjoying the power he was wielding. The silver key with the rounded cylindrical edge dangled around his neck. The flying digimon were drained of their power and plummeted to the ground.

- You will bow down to me! – yelled Spencer as the creature emitted a deafening roar that shattered the windows nearby in the city.

- Never! – yelled Meramon sprinting toward the giant monster intending to attack. Although the Centurion's last attack had weakened him with all the digimon around him he was charging at full force.

- Fool….. – muttered Spencer closing his eyes.

- No. wait! – yelled Ailurmon trying to get Meramon's attention.  
>The centurion released a hail of EMP projectiles that pierced through Meramon turning him into data in midair. All the other digimon staggered as fast as they could for cover.<br>Fred noticed that Rex did not seem to have been weakened by the Centurtion's attacks. Tom could read this in his eyes.

- I have an idea. – said Fred. – Give me the EMP projectile we modified.  
>Tom took it out of his backpack. Fred opened it and checked the wires.<p>

- Great. It's working. – said Fred.

- What do you intend to do? – asked Tom.

- If we can get Rex to fly up there he can disrupt the Centurion's weapon with this probe. Hopefully they will cancel each other and we may be able to call off the attack.

- What about Rex? – asked Tom.

- I don't know. If the surge disrupts the Centurion, Rex may be drained as well.

- May? What? – yelled Tom. – No way! There has to be another way. – In that moment Rex walked to Tom's side and pulled the side of his pants.

- I want to go, Tom… - said Rex into Tom's mind.

- No way!...No! You will get killed like that other guy! – yelled Tom with tears in his eyes.

- It's the only way Tom. – said Rex walking towards Fred nodding in approval.

- Please, Tom. It's our only shot. If we don't do this we will be incinerated in 15 minutes.

- Let him try… - said Mandy in tears approaching Tom and putting her hand on his shoulder.

Mandy took her Red shawl and gave it to Fred. He made it into a strap and looped it around the EMP projectile.

- 10 minutes. – said one of the soldiers looking at his stop watch.

- Ok. Tom. Your turn. – said Fred.

- Ok. – said Tom stoically standing in front of Rex. – Rex, synchronize, Rex, hyperthread to Tyto Alba. Once again, Rex changed into a giant white barn owl. Fred put the strap around him.

- Get as close as you can to the scepter and activate the projectile. – instructed Fred. – Good luck.

- Good luck Rex. – saluted Tom getting close and embracing his friend.  
>Rex took flight at great speed attempting to reach the highest part of the scepter. Spencer saw him flying up.<p>

- You're a tough opponent….. – said Lord Midler as he moved one more of his pieces.

- I love chess… I love the strategy…..… - replied Lord Amster replying the move.

- How do you think the situation is going to end up there? – asked Lord Midler thinking about the next move.

- I don't know Lord Midler. The important thing is that no matter the outcome….I always win. – said Lord Amster moving his next piece. – Checkmate…  
>Rex flew up spiraling close to the scepter.<p>

- 5 minutes. – said the soldier.

- Get away you Runt! Get away! – yelled Stewart as he saw Rex flying toward him.  
>Rex closed his eyes as he crashed onto the scepters gem at the tip generating a propagating shockwave. Suddenly, electrical power was restored.<p>

In a fraction of a second the centurion felt a surge propagating within his body and was able to synchronize with Rex's memory being able to see all the events Rex had experienced.

- This is private Stewart from the 5th tank division. We have personnel here. Call off the attack! Call off the attack! – yelled Stewart over the radio.

Everybody closed their eyes in anticipation as they saw the bomber plane approaching. The B-22 roared by without dropping its payload.

Relief turned into panic as it was noticed that Rex had lost his energy completely; his backup power was completely drained and he plummeted to the ground at great speed.  
>Mandy was starting to weep on Tom's shoulder as he looked up in shock.<br>As Rex reached below the midsection of the Centurion, the monster left the scepter buried on the ground extending the palm to brake Rex's fall.  
>He contemplated Rex's small furry body as it lay lifeless across his palm. Spencer was furious at this interruption of his demonstration of power.<p>

- What are you doing fool? - Destroy him! – yelled Spencer. – I am your master!  
>The centurion was able to look through Rex memory and saw all the moments that he had spent with Brice, Tom, Mandy and his family. He felt Rex's joy of freedom circulating throughout his entire body.<p>

- Stupid fool! – Do as I say! – yelled Spencer throwing a Tantrum.  
>The centurion felt irritated and raised his left arm putting his foreclaw close to Rex's back. He provided a small electric shock that encircled Rex's body.<p>

The Centurion raised his head and roared once again in pain and agony. He started to shrug his shoulders with the intent of shaking Spencer off. He staggered and fell backward plummeting to the ground. The crowd below gasped in horror as Spencer fell surely to die down below.  
>Crowmon flew back very fast and was able to grasp Spencer by the uniform with his claws.<br>Then, he descended softly to the crowd below releasing him practically to Stewart's arms.

- Greeting Spence…. –said Steward yanking the key from Spencer's neck.

- Greetings private… - said Spencer. – How do you feel about cleaning latrines from now on…..

Stewart replied with a punch squarely on the face.

- In your dreams, you son of a b – replied Stewart.  
>The other soldiers came along then and held Spencer into custody.<p>

- You will pay for this soldier! You are a lesser person. I'll have you court martialed in a heartbeat.  
>The centurion bent and softly deposited Rex on the ground on his side.<br>Tom and the rest of digimon ran close to him.

- Rex. Rex! – yelled Tom in desperation trying to wake up his friend.  
>Gatomon stepped closer and touched Rex's shoulder as he lay on the ground.<p>

- He's alive, but his data is very damaged. – said Gatomon with sadness in her eyes.

- Can it be fixed? – asked Tom with tears on his eyes.

- Perhaps if we take him back to our world we can do something… - said Gatomon.  
>The Humvee pulled over next to the crowd.<p>

- Stewart, we need to get out of here! The infantry is approaching with the National Guard.

- Let's move out quickly! – yelled Stewart hopping on the Humvee. 

An hour later they were at the entrance of the hidden base for the portal. Stewart had taken the control helmet from Spencer and controlled the Centurion to the secret base where the portal was.  
>The most vicious and aggressive digimon followed quietly behind. They had no choice.<br>The site was a giant silo shaped room with a white circle in the middle. Giant dollies flanked each side of the room projecting a laser beam to the center. A control console towered on the side.

- Ok. Here we go… - said Stewart turning the key at the console.  
>The mechanical sound from the dollies was followed by the appearance of a giant orb of white light lit up the center of the silo.<p>

In the next few minutes, creatures of all sizes and shapes paraded into the portal. The digimon that were captive in cell blocks forgot their disputes momentarily. They also wanted to go back.  
>Tom stood almost in a state of shock in front of the white light holding Rex in his arms.<br>Most of the digimon had gone through the portal when a large figure came out. It was a tall man with silver armor and a giant purple helmet covering his head down to his chin. A golden strip written in a strange language surrounded his torso and on his back 2 pairs of bird wings projected to the outside.

- Magnaangemon…. – called Gatomon bowing lightly to the newly appearing figure.  
>Magnaangemon looked at the giant Centurion beast that had struggled to crawl inside the giant cavern.<p>

- Thank you. If there is anything I can do for you, please, request it.

- I would like to go with you. – requested the Centurion.

- Very well. – said Magnaangemon. – You will be welcome among our kind. – he said extending his arms and in few instants the Centurion dissolved into particles that drifted toward the portal.

Then, Magnaangemon extended his palm and wrapped Rex in a luminescent bubble that drifted back to him.

- We are in eternal debt with you… - said Magnaangemon looking at the unconscious creature. Then he raised his head looking at Tom. – I'll see what we can do….. – he said in a very friendly tone of voice.

Tom approached cautiously and looked over. Rex looked asleep and very peaceful.

As Magnaangemon held Rex on one arm he extended his other hand and handed to Tom an oval shaped rock with strange characters on it.

- When the stone changes, your friend will be ready to see you again. Come back to this same place when that happens. – said Magnaangemon.

One of the soldiers came down to the cavern.

- We have to seal this thing! The rest of the troops are approaching.

Tom stepped backwards and Mandy came forward.

- Please, get better….. – she said kissing Rex's forehead.

- Good luck Rex. – said Fred softly.

- Farewell….. –said Magnaangemon turning around with Rex in his arms.

The rest of the digimon gave their farewell to their friends and walking aside Magnaangemon they got swallowed by the light that then dissipated into the night.


	14. DOWNLOAD COMPLETE

DISK 14  
>DOWNLOAD COMPLETE<p>

Two weeks later, Tom and Mandy were standing excitedly at the bottom of the silo.

Mandy had received a call from Tom who was frantic.

- Mandy! Come quick. It happened. – said Tom over the phone.  
>As the new year rang he had gone to his drawer looking for the stone. Then, at one point the stone started glowing. Then, Tom started to make phone calls.<p>

The days following those events had been hectic. The news ran for several days running the story about the mysterious creatures showing up close to Las Vegas area.

The story disappeared quickly when it was started to be disclosed that there was a military project close by.

- Thank you for bringing us here. – thanked Tom to Stewart who was standing next to Fred awaiting something to happen.

- What is that on your hand? - asked Stewart.

- I don't know….the stone turned into this suddenly…. – said Tom showing a strange device on his hands. It was made of a strange gray blue material with a circular screen in the middle. The screen was rimmed with a silver ring with strange characters.

- You look cute in plain clothes. – said Mandy commenting on Stewart's apparel.

- Yeah, well. This is what they call a dishonorable discharge….. – snickered Stewart.

- Oh…..sorry to hear that…..- replied Mandy.

- It's unfair man! – yelled Fred. – I heard Spencer was actually given a pardon and was even going to be promoted.

- Spencer has powerful friends. Much so, he declined the promotion and moved overseas. It seems he found a better employer. Besides, he could not get a motion to court martial me. None of the soldiers in the force was willing to testify against me.

In that moment, the dollies started making noises with the laser beams increasing the intensity producing the portal.

The device on Tom's hand started to react; the screen blinked green momentarily and it formed the shape of a grid. Then suddenly it projected a holographic image of something that looked like Rex. The projection was surrounded by a circular shaped digital compass that showed a red arrow tip pointing towards the portal. Below the holographic image strange characters showed up.

A shadow could be distinguished coming from the light. It belonged to a creature that stood still as he came out with a smile on his face. Same floppy ears and white fur but this time across his chest a symbol with a shape of a C with an overhanging bar could be seen. A large dot was inside the C. It was definitely Rex but his eyes were a little different. Triangular red marking flanked his eyes. His left arm now had a golden bracelet with strange characters engraved in it.

- Rex….. –said Tom with tears in his eyes walking towards his friend and embracing him.

Rex embraced Tom firmly. He had missed his old friend.

- Tom…. – said Rex but this time he moved his mouth producing sound. – My friend….. – said Rex producing shock and happiness on all the ones around him.

- You look handsome Rex. – said Mandy getting closer.  
>- Thank you Mandy. – replied Rex turning his head slightly. Others were behind him.<p>

Gatomon stepped out from the light. She was now wearing a golden ring with engraved characters around her tail.

- What do these characters mean? – asked Fred getting closer to Gatomon pointing at Tom's device and Rex's bracelet.

- It's our sacred language. – said Gatomon and she approached Rex's left arm. – "DIGITAL MONSTER". – she spelled out to the crowd.

- What about this? – said Tom pointing at the device.

- It's a symbol of your connection to our world. You are the first appointed ambassador. – explained Gatomon. – as the other digimon in the crowd applauded the humans present there.

- How did Rex get repaired? – asked Fred interrupting the greeting.

- You have to thank the Centurion. – replied Veemon who was behind Gatomon. - He provided the data that made possible to bring our friend back to life and make him one of us.

- Brice would have been very proud Rex. – said Tom taking Rex's paw in his hand.

- I am one of them now Tom. I have been given a new name as well. – said Rex extending his paw to touch one of the buttons on the device. The strange characters changed to English language.

- Welcome back…Nekomon…. – said Tom embracing his friend once again.

-

BONUS DOWNLOAD

- Lord Amster. The visitor you expected has arrived. – said the butler.  
>- Good. Let him in. – said lord Amster playing minigolf at the backyard of his huge mansion.<br>- Hello there. Having fun? – said Spencer coming into the yard showing to lord Amster he was holding a mini disk in his hand.  
>- Good job you did back there. – replied Lord Amster very satisfied.<br>- Thank you. What now? – asked Spencer.  
>- I have a new mission for you. – said Amster putting the ball on the tee. - There is a new project in the alps of France about artificial intelligence and we needed that data you smuggled out to start it. You will make contact with my agents in the coordinates written on that postcard. – said Amster pointing at the paper on the beach recliner.<br>- What's the name of the project?  
>- It's called Xana. - said Amster swinging the ball from the tee straight to the golf hole.<p>

THE END.


End file.
